


Dragons and Souls, Book 1: A Beacon of Hope

by InfernoKota



Series: Dragons and Souls [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, I'm not sure what to put here, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Plot, suggestions?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 100,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfernoKota/pseuds/InfernoKota
Summary: Beacon; the legendary huntsman academy where eight young warriors stand to begin their journey as guardians of the world, shepherds of a hard-fought peace. Before they will reach their goals, however, they will face ever-mounting odds, as darkness looms closer and closer. But perhaps victory is in the smaller things; things like hope- and unity.
Series: Dragons and Souls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596421





	1. Disclaimer + Author's Note

Disclaimer:  
RWBY, its associated products, characters, and songs all belong to Rooster Teeth and Jeff Williams respectively. Seriously. Go see their stuffs before coming here. Honestly, it doesn't make any sense to do it otherwise. Support the official release.

  
Author's Notes:  
Hellooooo people of the interwebs! It's ya boy, Infernokota here with something that I've been working on for a while now, and I'm really proud of. Legitimately, this may be my most favorite thing I've ever written.

  
The premise is simple: Team RWBY are the main characters. They run this show. JNPR come in second because Pyrrha and Jaune. The new teams are simply... support characters that have the spotlight. Which is redundant. Point being, they're just here for the ride. It'll... make sense shortly. But, I try to keep relatively close to the show in terms of themes, mood, style, charm, etc etc. I don't intend to copy word for word, scene for scene of the show, but, again, my and my brother's boys and girls are just here for the ride. Honestly, if you've seen the show, you should know what to expect. If you haven't well... go watch the show and you'll know what to expect. Periodically, an author's note will show up at the bottom of the chapter, but generally, it'll just be something relating to the chapter I wanted to mention, or some asinine reason or another why it took so longer to update. No need to read them, unless you really want to.

  
A reminder that this is a labour of love. RWBY's not a perfect show; it never has been, and quite frankly may never be. But, I love it for what it is. And I love DRGN SOUL for what it is and what it means to me. These characters, over the past three years, have become some of the most dear that I've ever concocted, and I hope it shows. My brother and I started this story in 2016, and I'm immensely proud of what it has done and become since then. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

  
Otherwise, all concept arts for the main characters can be found on my twitter, Infernokota! Hopefully, here soon, I'll compile them in a neat little Moment, but we'll see. And, eventually, they'll also find their way to my Tumblr, though I'm not very active on there, but oh well!

  
Before I sign off, though, I just want to say: Thank you Monty. I didn't know you, but you brought such joy to mine and many others' lives, and I wish I had had the opportunity to meet you. This story goes out to you. I hope it'll be something you would've been proud of.

  
Much love to all,  
I'll see you on the other side,  
Cheers  
-Infernokota


	2. Disclaimer + Author's Note

Volume 1, Chapter 1: The Emerald Forest

* * *

_"I'll keep this brief,"_

Boots clattered against the dirt in a panicked, haphazard sprint, pounding against the underbrush at a frantic pace. Frighteningly loud howls echoed not far off in the distance, getting ever closer and closer.

_"My name is Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy,"_

The creatures tore through the shadows cast by the massive trees of the forest, growling and snarling to one another as they charged forwards after their prey, slowly spreading out in a disorganized, loose line.

_"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft as huntsmen and huntresses and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people against the creatures of Grimm,"_

The girl huffed in exhaustion as she veered hard to the side, slapping and pushing her way through the greenery of the thick forest, dark eyes wide in terror, ripping at anything that impeded her dead sprint. She was short, with dark, choppily cut hair, skin tanned dark, and warm, hazel eyes, freckles dotting her features, dressed in white and silver, a thick-cut dress covering most of her form, a copper emblem emblazoned on her thigh.

_"You assume knowledge alone will prepare you for this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far,"_

Her eyes shot to the side as something began to tear through the underbrush just a few short feet away, a mass of blackness; gleaming red and yellow eyes staring at her as it easily kept pace.

She let out a frustrated yell, raising a hand into the air- there was a whirring sound as a large ring of gleaming steel shot from her hip into the palm of her gloves. She lashed out with another wild swing, a gleaming slice of green energy emanating from the blade, slicing through the greenery to rip into the creature's hide, drawing a pained howl from it, the beast slowing as it stumbled away.

_"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die,"_

The howls picked back up, increasing in intensity as the pack neared closer and closer, the sounds of things ripping through the forest around her beginning to close in.

The girl grimaced in exhaustion and anxiety, another ringed blade flying into her other hand, both lengths of steel swinging around her, cutting through the thick bramble as she rocketed through the trees, leaping up and through the brush-

And into a small dirt clearing, white boots sliding against the loose ground as she skid to a stop, making a hard turn to the side and back into the depths of the verdant forest, the sounds of several of the creatures flying into the clearing behind her, scattering across the ground, scrambling to rise back to their feet, tearing off after her.

_"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics,"_

The girl let out a growl of frustration as she continued to charge forwards, muscles aching, breath coming shorter and shorter, even as the beasts seemed to grow faster and faster, their pace slowly beginning to overtake her own, dark shapes almost imperceptible in the shadows of the great trees of the forest roaring through the greenery around, the darkness filled with dozens of red eyes.

_"Each pair of huntsmen must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately,"_

A pair of red eyes tore through the brush, poised to cut her off in her path, razor sharp, white claws ripping through the dirt below as it closed in with frightening speed, the girl's eyes widening in terror-

_"It is up to you to take the first step."_

It crashed into her, the creature taking both of them off of their feet, claws and teeth ripping away at her as they tumbled through the underbrush, further and further, before breaking out into a clear area, both girl and beast rolling across the dirt, a cloud of dust appearing in their wake.

Both combatants frantically scrambled to their feet, the girl gritting her teeth as she held her blades high.

The grimm before her was sizable, taller than her and vaguely lupine in appearance, sparse patches of white bone covering its otherwise inky, black form.

They slowly circled each other, dark eyes staring into unnervingly intelligent red and gold.

The standoff didn't last, however, as another one of the creatures exploded from the forest around them, gleaming teeth gnashing at her as it flew through the air. She narrowly rolled to the side, letting it soar over her to clamber into the dirt, the girl spinning back to a knee, gaze whipping around her as the sounds of growls began to echo all through the forest, more and more red eyes appearing in the dark.

Slowly more and more grimm began to trudge into the clearing, heads bowed lowly as they cautiously starting circling around her, growling and snarling at the lone huntress.

The creatures slowed to a stop, muscles coiling as they slowly leaned forwards. The girl grit her teeth together, holding her ringblades up at the ready.

A grimm let out a loud growling bay, then leapt from the ground, dirt flying up in its wake, fangs aimed for the girl

It never made it.

There was a blur of red and gold from the shadows, the small object soaring through the air with considerable speed and momentum, crashing into the beast and plucking it from the air, sending it spiking back down to earth.

The eyes of the other grimm, as well as the girl, turned towards the fallen creature in sudden shock, her eyes wide as she took in the red and gold javelin impaling the limp beast, dark smoke beginning to curl lazily from its form.

Her eyes widened even further as a wave of realization rolled over her.

None of the prior combatants were given a chance to react, before a golden saucer flew from the darkness with just as considerable of speed, crashing into one of the grimm's snouts, sending it careening head over heel. A loud magnetic whir echoed around the clearing as both weapons went flying back the way they'd come as something larger tore through the greenery of the forest beyond.

The girl crashed down onto a knee, javelin and shield landing comfortably back in her grasp, dressed in dark leathers and golden armor, long, colorful red hair pulled into a high ponytail behind her. Green eyes narrowed as she looked around the clearing, deadly serious as she took in the situation- her gaze stopped on the other girl, before widening.

"Daria?" She asked, head perking up.

"… _Pyrrha_?!" The white-clad girl called back, equally as surprised.

One of the beasts charged at the newcomer, claws swinging through the air, and the redhead snapped back to attention, leaping out of the path of the charging grimm, pirouetting gracefully before lashing out with her javelin, cleaving its head clean from its body.

Daria stumbled back to her feet as well, ringblades clutched tightly in hand. One of the grimm let out an ear-ringing howl, and the rest of the creatures leapt into action, charging at the two huntresses.

The shorter combatant spun away from one of the lashing beasts, both blades ripping through its side, a pained growl escaping its maw. She took off at a sprint, leaping off of its body and towards the tree line, boots colliding with one of the forest's massive trees, coiling up before leaping off with inhuman speed and strength. She spun in the air, swatches of green energy rolling out around her as she shot towards her companion.

Pyrrha's shield went up on instinct as Daria reached her, the smaller girl sliding off its surface to land smoothly and safely onto the ground, slicing up at one of the beast's attempting to flank the redhead. The gold-clad warrior's shield came up again, battering a swinging claw of one of the creatures, sending it tumbling away, before she spun quickly, flinging the saucer away, its sharp edge cutting through the grimm with ease.

Without losing a step, she swung her javelin at another encroaching creature, ever aware of her companion fighting behind her, blades flying through the air, green slices of energy cutting through the air, coming close to hitting Pyrrha, but always barely missing, the two huntresses synergizing effortlessly.

The redhead sliced through two of the beasts, spinning her javelin with ridiculous precision- and as she spun, its parts shifted and moved, sliding across its form, before the weapon came to a stop, the barrel of a gun pointing out at the beasts. She began firing quickly, rifle shots echoing through the depths of the forest as she spun in quick, measured circles, each bullet finding its target.

Pyrrha turned on her heel, firing back towards Daria- the shot flew over the diminutive huntress' shoulder, colliding with the grimm behind her. The white-clad warrior didn't waste a moment with shock, leaping forwards and landing in a roll as she narrowly dodged another grimm's wild slash, shooting back to her feet, turning as she did, striking out with more slashes of energy, ripping through the offending creature.

The shorter girl took off at a run, before falling in a slide, dodging under another set of vicious swipes. Her legs swung out around her, taking its paws out from under it, before she leapt back to her feet, landing soundly onto the creature, a grunt leaving it as she launched itself from its back, flying away from it, tumbling across the dirt before leaping back to her feet.

Pyrrha continued to fire around them, before whipping her rifle through the air, the gleaming blade of the javelin retaking its position, swinging out wide to take out one of the creatures, several beginning to close in on her. She grimaced as she quickly sized up her attackers, before hurling her javelin away, puncturing through one of the grimm, sending it soaring away.

Without a moment of hesitation, she leapt upwards, her hand clenching into a fist, black energy surrounding it as she ripped her limb back towards her. Her shield flew through the tree line back towards her. She expertly tucked her legs towards her, waiting until the shield was beneath her- then struck out, pushing off of it and high into the air, hands glowing black, both weapons shooting back into her grip.

Her green eyes narrowed as she stared down at the beasts beneath her, before she began to fall quickly back down to earth. With two quick thrusts, she sent both weapons careening towards the grimm, impaling one and cleaving another.

"Daria!" She called out.

The shorter huntress blinked back to focus, taking her eyes off of the soaring redhead, and to the grimm below, face twisting in understanding and focus, ringblades lighting up with energy, two swathes of green ripping through several of them.

Pyrrha rocketed back down to the ground, heeled boots colliding with both gold weapons, sending them flipping back into her hands-  
Her shield hand struck out, crashing into one grimm's snout with a satisfying 'crunch' while her javelin hand lashed out, impaling another cleanly through the midsection.

Both grimm crumpled to the ground, and the clearing went quiet.

Daria and Pyrrha stared off for a few moments, before they burst out into disbelieving giggles, the tension draining from them- even as the former collapsed onto her rear, shaking her head, blades dropping into the dirt.

"Are you alright, Daria?" The red head asked as she walked towards her fellow huntress.

"…Y'know? All things considered; I think I'm pretty okay!"

Pyrrha extended a hand to the girl, helping her shorter companion back to her feet. "I hadn't known that you were coming to Beacon! I'd have to try to meet up with you otherwise!"

Daria stared up at her for a long moment, dark eyes meeting green, before she blinked back to reality, a dark, dark blush spreading across her cheeks. Her gaze shot away quickly, a nervous smile claiming her face as she rubbed the back of her head. "Uh- well… it's… yeah, you know? I… didn't think it was… you know, that important to tell you, you know? Not like… we were… super close, or anything like that, you know? You know."

The smile slowly drained from Pyrrha's face, a more somber look taking its place. "Oh… I'd… always thought we were friends."

Daria's lips went tight, her blush darkening in embarrassment. "…Oh," The two huntresses stood awkwardly in the clearing for a moment, before the shorter girl let out a nervous laugh, punching her old friend in the arm. "Well… thanks for saving me back there! Aha… yeah, I would've… probably died… but hey- we made eye contact, right? I guess that means we're partners now!"

Pyrrha smiled again, a small sigh escaping her lips as she turned her gaze down to the dirt. "Uh… not quite."

As if on cue, there was the sound of something clumsily working its way through the trees, quiet cursing following it, before it finally broke its way through the greenery to the clearing beyond.

The boy huffed in exhaustion as he came to a stop, leaning over to plant his hands onto his knees, fighting desperately to catch his breath, holding a finger up to the girls as he did.

He was dressed more casually than the huntresses; Chuck Taylor sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie covered in sparse, white armor. Finally, he threw his head back. " _Whoo_!"

Daria stared at him for a long moment, before her gaze slowly shifted back to Pyrrha, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and concern.

"…Ahem!" The redhead called out, shooting back to attention. "Daria- meet Jaune, my partner! Jaune- meet Daria. She's an old... classmate of mine."

"Yeah, hi, Dinah," He managed to wheeze out, hands on his hips. "Great to meet you-" He stopped in his tracks as he took in the state of the clearing, a dozen slowly dissipating grimm bodies littered around them. "Uh… and, uh, what… happened here?"

"Oh…" Pyrrha began. "Nothing to worry about. We took care of it, right?"

"Uh… right," Daria said unsurely, looking back and forth between the huntsmen before her. "Well… this is great, and all, but, uh, I… need to go find a partner. Before I meet any more grimm. Hey, uh, if I find the temple, though!" She snapped two finger guns at Pyrrha. "I'll, uh… call you. I… have your number, right?"

"Yes, you have my number."

"Group project, right! That ended up… just being us doing all the work- yeah, I'll call you- yeah, great seeing you," She nodded hard as she began to back into the tree line. "And, uh… nice meeting you, Jaune."

"You too, Deborah."

"Daria."

"Right."

She gave them another awkward smile, snapping her finger guns again- before disappearing out of view. She'd only taken a few steps away, before she dropped into a crouch, her hands going to her mouth as she poorly attempted to stifle an anguished scream, shaking side to side angrily.

After a moment, she popped back to her feet, letting out a disappointed groan, beginning to pick her way back through the forest ahead.

* * *

The boy let out a slow exhalation of breath, muscles relaxing as the tension drained from him. He rose from his crouch, flourishing his katana- its steel blade inlaid with silver characters, a purple ribbon hanging from it- before sheathing it, expression cooling from one of intent to a stony stoicism. He was dressed in dark, flowing clothes, sporadic pieces of armor cladding his form, hair short and combed neatly, undercut on the sides.

Dual purple orbs turned over his shoulder flatly, taking in the collection of fallen and disappearing corpses of grimm placed haphazardly behind him. He gave a small, unimpressed exhalation of breath before turning forwards again, one hand resting lazily on the handle of his blade, the other reaching out ahead of him to calmly push his way through the thick underbrush, his gait even and measured despite the uneven ground beneath him.

The samurai had only managed to walk a few short meters from the remains of his battle- before gunshots began to ring out through the trees around him, his gaze shooting to the sky as a small flock of birds fled from the tree-tops, disappearing into the distance. His eyes closed, a small, relaxed breath exhaling from him, when-

Poof.

A sizable, large cloud of purple smoke enveloped him, rushing out to fill the air, wisps rounding the trees. It stood for a moment, before fading to nothing- and the samurai was gone.

* * *

Poof.

The thick smoke filled the clearing, sets of confused red eyes visible in it, before the length of steel flew through the air, cleaving neatly into the smoke, ripping through the black flesh of the grimm with ease, quick, efficient slashes thrown out around the samurai, inky, smoky body parts flying through the smoke as the boy made quick work mincing through the pack of beasts.

In the midst of his deadly focus, he was unaware of the girl stumbling out of the smoke, a cowboy hat held in hand as she battered the fog out of her face, coughing raucously as she did so. She was dressed in brown leathers, golden designs swooping across her coat- her skin was deeply suntanned, contrasting starkly with long, deep red hair and vivid green eyes.

She came to a stop, taking a deep breath of fresh air- before rapidly turning on her heel, a large revolver held tightly in hand, her head cocked to the side as she stared into the dark smoke.

A grimm leapt from the cloud; it was shorter, but more robust than its lupine cousin, dexterous claws outstretched for the gunslinger.

A hearty gunshot echoed through the forest as she fired, the creature's head recoiling, bullet hole firmly placed in its forehead, the beast tumbling away. She scoffed as she took a hard step forwards, her gun spinning around her finger as more of the grimm lunged for her, a quick spray of shots blossoming out from the girl, each finding their targets with ease.

The gun clicked empty loudly, and the girl gave it an irritated, side-eyed look, before hurling it into the air, immediately lashing out with a boot to another of the creature's domed face, sending it stumbling away; right into a well-timed slash from the still hidden samurai.

Her hand lashed out, catching the revolver solidly in her hand, bashing it hard into the snout of a grimm, a satisfying 'crack' greeting her.

The clearing went still as she stared into the dissipating cloud of smoke, hip cocked out, resting her weight on one leg. There was a beat of silence, before the samurai stepped out into the clear air, wisps of smoke reaching off of his form, skillfully sheathing his katana.

A smirk slowly found its way onto the gunslinger's face- before her freehand came up with lightning speed, another revolver held tightly, the hammer cocked, and the trigger pulled before the boy had a chance to react.

The bullet flew true, arcing over his shoulder before burying itself into the head of the grimm behind him. His eyebrow raised as he looked over the shoulder to the fallen beast, gaze turning back to the girl as she ducked low, picking up a pair of dark aviator sunglasses, looking them over, then putting them on, satisfied.

" _Well, hell_! Looks like we're partners, huh?" She called out in a thick drawl, moving her sunglasses to perch onto the tip of her nose, emerald gaze looking him up and down, a smile spreading across her face.

"…So it seems." He muttered, giving the clearing one last scan.

She stepped towards him, holstering her pistols and extending a hand. "Oracle Carmine."

He stared at it for a moment curiously, before taking it, giving her a low bow.

"Kyani. Shinai."

"Kyani, huh? That's a pretty forei-"

" _Shinai_." He cut in curtly, voice even in tone.

"Pardon, hon?"

"Shinai is my given name. Kyani is my family name."

The partners stared off for a moment quietly, Oracle's emerald gaze slowly narrowing. Finally, she gave him a small, understanding nod. "…Kay, then. Last name Kyani, first name Shinai. That… ain't weird at all. You must not be from around here, then."

The samurai held his part of the stare-off for another moment, before finally looking away, adjusting his katana stiffly. "…I was born on Patch. My name is Mistrali."

The smirk slowly began to crawl its way back onto Oracle's face. "What a _complex man_ you are. I'm lookin' forward to seeing what's under all those layers, _mm_."

Shinai stopped in his place, eyes falling to stare at the dirt. Slowly, a deep, resigned breath escaped his lips, his face fading from an expression of polite impassivity to one of stone-stillness, eyes going dark and guarded. He straightened back up, turning to continue his stiff march towards the trees. "…We should keep moving. Before the sun sets."

Oracle watched him go for a moment, leaning back to take in his gait, her look turning coy. "Ooh, dark, handsome, and stoic. This day just keeps gettin' better and better." She sauntered off after the samurai, sashaying forwards with all of the confidence in the world.

* * *

"Now, of course, it may seem silly to you, but at the time I was simply _enamored_!"

"A-ah."

"Truly. It was glorious- simple, but majestic in its own right, and I simply had to have it."

"Mm."

"Since then, I simply refused to let go of it. Part of it is, of course, nostalgia, but I truly do believe that it has a well-worn, warm thrum to it that I can't seem to replace or recreate. Eventually, it'll pass on, but until that day, I can't help but love it for all it is. I wish I'd brought it, but alas…"

"Ah… of- of course."

The duo stopped in their tracks.

The boy looked over to his companion- he was well-tanned in his complexion, hair silver and messy on his head, eyes a lupine pale yellow in color; he was dressed in a casual white and red tracksuit, sneaker cladding his left foot- in the place of his right leg, though, was a silver mechanical limb, tapering down into a set of canine paws, razor sharp.

And behind him lazily wagged a shaggy canine tail.

He raised a fine eyebrow, a coy look playing on his face, before speaking in his light, lilting accent. "Dear, you don't seem too terribly enamored with the story about my guitar."

The girl jolted, eyes going wide, a dark blush spreading across her cheeks. Her skin was warm and dark, hair pulled into a messy dark bun behind her, tall, willowy body covered in comfortable, form-fitting blue and black gear, height aided by the heels beneath her. She shook her head quickly. "Ah- n-no, no! I- I'm listening." She pled anxiously, her own voice sharing an accent, though completely dissimilar to his.

The faunus' look shifted from coy to teasing. "Ah, you wound me, my dear! I'd thought it an enthralling story-"

"I-it is!"

"No need to protect my pride now! Too little too late, Miss Cerulean. Very well, I shan't speak more of it."

Her hands quickly balled up in front of her, a wave of shame washing over her as she dropped her head low, her blush only growing more intense.

The boy's look faded, his eyes rolling. He threw an arm over her shoulder as they continued on their way. "I'm simply teasing, dear! No need to be so easily abashed- this will be a difficult year for you if you do so."

She- flinching at the sudden touch- nodded quickly but said nothing.

The boy's gaze turned to the treetops as they marched ever onwards, expression thoughtful. "Tell me, archer- where do you think this temple is, exactly? I caught a small view of the forest on our way in, and, quite frankly, it's rather massive. While I do enjoy this land's ever stretching greenery, I'd rather- _draw_."

That finally drew her gaze back to his face, his tone going deadly serious. She blinked in confusion, before he quickly shot away from her, mechanical leg sliding in front of him, bouncing from foot to foot as he adopted an admittedly casual fighting stance.

She followed his example, skittering backwards, pulling an ornate compound bow from her back, drawing an arrow from the mechanized quiver parallel with her thigh, her warm brown gaze pirouetting around the forest surrounding them, anxiously searching for the source of her partner's paranoia.

The faunus peered into the depths of the greenery with narrowed eyes- before lifting his mechanical leg, the plates shifting to reveal the barrel of an oversized cannon, steam spitting through the cracks as he kicked out and fired, the gunshot ear-shattering in volume.

The over-large bullet flew into the trees, disappearing from sight- and the partners were greeted with the distinct sound of metal hitting metal. The boy's gaze shifted from one of suspicious to one of confusion, leg lowering as his stance relaxed ever-so-slightly.

Two shapes began to move through the underbrush, becoming more and more apparent before they finally broke through into the trail the huntsmen were perched in.

The leading figure raised an eyebrow as he stepped into view- slung over his shoulder was a massive steel monstrosity of a greatsword. He was fair in skin, hair blonde and slicked back, red long-coat lined in gold undone at the top, baring a well-muscled chest to the duo. He thrust his freehand forwards- and tossed the cannon shot back to the faunus, who nimbly snatched it from the air.

"Might needta be a little more careful where you fire that thing, bud," The blonde said. "Someone might get hurt like that."

"I'd…" The silver-haired huntsman let loose an appraising chuckle. "You can never be too careful, no?"

"Uh huh. Ebony, you can come out. It's okay, no one's gonna hurt you, buddy." He turned over his shoulder expectantly, sheathing his greatsword onto his back casually, idly swiping his hair backwards, placing any cuticles back into their rightful places.

The greenery began to move again- as a massive, hulking figure made his way through, standing at least a foot over the other three huntsmen, nearly twice as wide as well, his skin pale, standing out starkly against wild, long black hair and equally black, _very_ irritated eyes. He was dressed exclusively in shades of black and grey, most of his form covered in a long, thick, winter trench coat.

He shifted his form angrily as he bared down on his comparably smaller partner. "Call me bud. One. More. _Time_."

The swordsman snorted derisively, none-too-threatened by the towering individual. He gestured at him with a thumb over the shoulder as he turned back to the opposing pair. "That's Ulysses. I'm Lance Zaffre."

He extended a hand to the faunus, who took it with little hesitation- and then bowed lowly with a flourish. "You may have the pleasure of calling me Rainier Platina, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo, scion of the legendary house of the Wardens of the West- and well-renowned bachelor in the lands far west of here."

Lance retracted his hand, idly wiping it onto his coat, before looking passed Rainier, a smirk crawling onto his face as he caught sight of the girl standing further back, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "And who's the honey behind you?"

Rainier blinked, turning back to his partner, jolting as if he'd just realized she'd been standing there. "Oh, yes, her! That is one Miss Gail Cerulean," He turned back to the swordsman. "She's an archer."

She gave a tiny, uncomfortable wave before dropping her arms again, shrinking into herself, gaze averting from the trio of huntsmen before her.

Lance's expression soured slightly, before he shrugged noncommittally, attention turning back to the Vacuoan before him. "Well, wolf, pleasure to meet ya and archer-girl. You two any good in a fight?"

The faunus' expression twisted into a more-than-a-little vicious grin. " _Am I good in a fight_. I forget sometimes that I've left my kingdom for another. Oh, yes, Mr. Zaffre. I am very good in a fight."

Lance looked him up and down again, scoffing slightly. "Yeah, sorry if I'm not exactly convinced, Platina. You look like you just got out of bed, and I don't trust anyone who fights in their pjs."

"Well… I'm more than willing to give you a… _sample_ of what I'm capable of. Up close and personal… if you wish it." Rainier muttered, head cocking to the side.

A grin of his own slowly crept onto the swordsman's face, hand creeping up to latch onto the handle of his greatsword. "That so, wolf? And, uh, tell me, chief- what, uh, happens if I say yes?"

"Shall we find out?"

"Uh, R-Rainier?" Gail asked, leaning around the faunus, finally joining the confrontation, her face a veil of uncertainty. "M-maybe we shouldn't, um, _fight_? Tha-that feels like a… a bad idea. We might- we might bring grimm here."

The two huntsmen continued to stare off for a moment- before Rainier's face brightened considerably, his muscles relaxing as he leaned back in his spot, hands reaching up to clasp behind his head. "Ah, Miss Cerulean, I was simply testing Zaffre's mettle, that's all. Just a little friendly… sizing up, no?"

"Of course!" Lance said, giving a laugh, his hand dropping from his sword. "Of course… of course," the last word was delivered quietly, his smile dropping back into a hard stare for a moment. Finally, he cocked his head to the side. "Aight, enough chit-chat. You guys comin'? Big man back there and I think we've got a lead on the temple. Four's better-"

One massive, black-taped hand wrapped around the swordsman's shoulder; and began to tighten, just enough so that it was uncomfortable, turning the swordsman around in his spot. Ulysses' face was drawn into an absolutely irritated snarl. "We. Are. _Going_."

Lance stared up at the brute, before ripping his shoulder free from his partner's grip. "Says who, bud?"

"Says me," Ulysses growled. "Or you can find the temple by yourself." Without another word, he turned on his heel, marching back into the forest, disappearing into the shadows with unsettling ease.

The blonde swordsman watched him go for a second, before rolling his eyes. He turned back to the other duo as he began to saunter backwards after his partner. He inclined his head to the faunus. "Maybe next time, Platina." He began to disappear into the brush- but not before giving Gail a cheeky wink and click.

She blinked hard, near eternal blush finding its way back to her face. Rainier chuckled, shaking his head as he stared at the spot the duo had disappeared through. "Come then, Miss Cerulean. The day is not getting any longer, yes?" He himself began marching away, and after a moment, his partner continued off after him, fishing a book from a holster on her belt as she did so, opening it up and immediately engrossing herself into it.

Rainier began to whistle as he walked, eyes locked back to the sky casually, with hardly a care in the world.

* * *

Daria leapt to the side in the nick of time, the ursine grimm slamming a massive claw down into the dirt, a cloud of dust flying into the air from the impact. The girl hit the ground in a roll, a flurry of quick, green energy waves launched towards the beast, ripping into its inky flesh- but not nearly doing as much damage as they did to the beowolf grimm, the beast letting loose an unnatural roar of pain and fury.

It dropped back to run on all fours, charging towards the huntress with ridiculous speed, roaring as it went. She winced hard, lifting a hand and averting her eyes; a large, brilliant orb of light emanated out, filling the small clearing.

The blinding flash was more than enough to disorient the grimm, a pained growl emanating from it, head shaking side to side as it continued to charge blindly forwards, missing Daria and running full-speed into one of the massive trees, shaking the gargantuan trunk with the force of the impact.

Furiously, it turned on its heel, roaring as it searched for the huntress- and found nothing.

Confused, it began to trudge forwards, red eyes scanning side to side for any sight of the diminutive girl.

Her eyes, rather, were locked onto the beast, perched high above it, balanced precariously on a large branch, waiting patiently; right until the grimm turned away from her, and she pounced, leaping from the bough to land solidly onto its back, dual blades ripping into its hide, before dramatically tearing them back out, green slices of energy following the wake of the steel weapons, further shredding the creature's back. It let out another roar as it began to thrash from side-to-side, both in pain, and in an attempt to knock its rider free.

Swaying wildly atop the beast, Daria grit her teeth as she continued to slice downwards into the massive grimm, working furiously to rip her way through its black mass, letting out an irritated, frustrated scream as she did so.

Finally, the beast took a hard step to the side, shaking wildly, then shot the other way, the drastic change in movement enough to send Daria flying, hitting the ground hard and rolling uncontrollably away.

She shook the impact from her mind, trying to frantically climb to her feet.

She was too slow, though, the ursa shifting onto its back legs, its hulking form bearing down over the comparably tiny huntress, sharp white claws held high, gaining height and momentum, before bringing them down.

It was too slow, though, as a monstrous blur of red steel shot from the side, bodily slamming into the beast with a hearty 'crunch', both the offending object and the creature charging towards the end of the clearing, the grimm hurtling directly into a tree, leaves falling from the force of the ridiculous impact, splinters of wood exploding outwards.

Daria shot to her feet, her eyes wide.

Holding the creature by the throat, and lifting it off of the ground, was a monstrously large red-metal humanoid construct, the mech as large as the beast itself.

A mocking scoff of a laugh emanated from the construct, the voice deep and heavily synthesized. With ease, it turned on its heel and hurled the ursa away, the beast tumbling across the ground.

The mech turned towards Daria for the smallest moment, a glowing green-glass gaze passing over her emotionlessly before it turned back towards the grimm, beginning to stalk towards the injured, recovering beast.

The creature stumbled back to its feet, roaring furiously at the construct, before leaping towards it, throwing its entire weight into the red monstrosity of metal. The mech's hands flew up to catch the beast with ridiculous speed, several jets of flame lighting up on the back of its arms with the movement, massive metal digits snatching the ursa out of the air, feet digging into the earth and sliding inches backwards the only inclination that the beast had any weight to it all.

The grimm snapped viciously at the helm of the construct in vain as the mech held it off, one hand rising up to latch onto the bottom of its jaw- and sent it crashing into the ground with ease, a cringe-worthy crack ringing out through the forest.

The mech didn't let up, the other hand reaching out to grasp the other half of the jaw, lifting the ursa back into the air.

With one swift, vicious movement, it jerked its arms apart, a sickening tearing sound ringing through the clearing. The grimm's jaws went slack, its body going limp in the construct's grip. The mech let out another synthesized, unimpressed chortle, before turning on its heel, hurling the creature's limp body away, crashing it against a tree.

After a moment, the mech finally turned back towards Daria, her ringblades instinctively coming up in a defensive stance, teeth gritting together as she faced it down. The clearing went silent with tension as the two combatants stared off.

'Tschh', the sound of steam releasing filled the air as the torso of the mech split into two, the head disappearing down into the depths of the suit, the construct's plates shifting loudly.

There was a blur of movement- and a tussled mop of blonde hair popped out of the opening of the mech, a pair of bright, cheery blue eyes and a brilliant, beaming smile greeting Daria as a very youthful face stared down at her.

"'Ello!" He called over, raising a hand into the air and waving giddily.

Daria's body went lax as she stared at him in dumbfoundment, blinking in disbelief.

The boy climbed through the top of the mech, leaping out to land solidly onto the floor- he only stood a few inches taller than Daria, and was dressed surprisingly casually in an outfit more appropriate for a schoolboy than a combatant, down to a pair of chuck Taylor's and rolled up blue jeans, his fingers wrapped in bandages and tape.

He brushed his hands off onto his jeans, still shaking with excitement as he extended a hand to the girl. "Name's Nash! Nash Aspis! Looks like we're partners now, huh?"

"…Daria." She muttered unsurely, stiffly shaking the offered limb.

Nash, still grinning, turned hard on his heel, scampering back to his mech- of which he barely reached the knee-joint of- and patted its red metal affectionately. "This- this is Phalanx, my baby!"

"…Hi."

"Oh, he can't talk- well, he can, but it's, like, more," His face went still, arms adopting right angles, his next words spoken with uncharacteristic stiffness. "' _Beep boop I am a robot, I have one-thousand pre-recorded lines I may say, beep boop'_ ," He snorted, dropping the act. "I tried really, really hard to try'n program a responsive AI, but, eh, it was a lotta work an' it wasn't really actually workin', so I just said 'eh' and scrapped the idea, and did this! The Phalanx Program's great! I just wished it wasn't, y'know… so buggy."

Daria blinked rapidly, shaking her head slightly as she struggled to process the word vomit he'd just spouted at her. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "You're a… little young to be out here, aren't you?"

"I dunno, I mean, how old are you- oh, my b! Mama said that asking women for their ages was rude, my b, my b!"

The newly minted partners stared off for a long moment.

Finally, a disbelieving smile climbed across Daria's face, even as she shook her head. "…Y'know, Nash Aspis? I think I'm going to like you."

He grinned back bashfully, blushing at the sudden affection, shifting contently. "D'awww, thank youuu."

Daria inclined her head to the side. "Alright, get back in the suit. Let's get a move on, _partner_."

Nash let out a giddy squeak at the word, scampering back towards his mech, scaling it with practiced ease before dropping halfway back inside, tapping the shoulders of Phalanx rhythmically.

The Mistrali huntress shook her head as she continued on her way through the forest, the sound of Phalanx's heavy footsteps just a short few feet behind her.

* * *

Shinai steadily climbed the steps up towards the temple, eyes closed peacefully, a wave of relief washing over him, his goal slowly coming closer and closer into view.

"I could watch you climb stairs all day, darlin'." Oracle murmured from her position behind him, head cocked to the side leerily, a smirk plastered onto her face.

The samurai let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Still, you insist."

"Ooh, you bet. Mama didn't raise no quitter."

Shinai finally reached the apex of the ascent, coming to a standstill, gaze turning to take in the temple itself, eyes ever wary of his surroundings. Oracle snorted as she joined him, bumping her hip against his- to his quiet chagrin- hands looped into her belt.

"Aw, cheer up, hon," She cooed as she stepped passed him. "You'll get used to it eventually," The gunslinger continued into the open-air pavilion, eyes glued to the outer edges- a collection of large chess pieces stood on equally spaced pedestals. She reached over and picked one up, turning it around in her hand, before returning it, intently waiting for something to happen. After a moment of silence, she turned, leaning against the pedestal, an eyebrow raising towards the samurai. "Chess pieces, huh?"

"So it seems."

"Could be the artifacts Professor Oz was talkin' about."

He hummed noncommittally as he joined her on the platform, looking over each piece in turn.

"Two to a set?" Oracle continued to muse, walking along the edges of the temple, investigating each artifact closely. "Two pairs to a team- oh, this must be how they'll throw us together when we get back to the cliff."

Shinai came to a stop, eyebrows furrowing as he stared at her. "…Very astute."

"I try."

"…You're a talented fighter, Carmine."

She turned a cocked eyebrow to the samurai. "If that's your idea of flirtin', hon, you might need to re-evaluate."

" _No_ ," He muttered in slight exasperation. "You… surprise me."

"Well…" Oracle shrugged, picking up a piece. "I surprise myself sometimes. How 'bout this?" She tossed it to him.

"…Black knight?"

"In honor of my strappin' samurai," At his confused look, she rolled her eyes.

"Samurai, knight, whatever, same difference."

"I…" He trailed off, his past, reassessing gaze fading back to stony indifference. "Very well. Back to the cliff."

Hands in her pockets, Oracle began to make her way back towards her partner, the duo beginning the descent down the stairs back into the forest proper. "Sure hope none of these other idiots get killed out there. I'd hate to have to make a detour on the way back."

Shinai simply hummed flatly, guarded gaze turning back forwards as they disappeared into the trees.

* * *

"And we have our first victors." The woman said, an electronic tablet-like Scroll held in front of her, Shinai and Oracle plastered onto its screen, disappearing into the thick of the forest. She was older, blonde and fair in complexion, dressed formally in white and black, a riding crop tucked under her arm, a tattered cape hanging from her back.

The man let out a thoughtful hum as he stared at his own tablet- the image of a girl clad in red and black on his screen for a moment before it shifted to the samurai and the gunslinger, his free hand lifting a steaming mug of hot chocolate to his lips. He was dressed formally as well, a black and green suit cladding him, his hair messy and silver in color, an intricate cane resting against his side.

"The Kyani boy continues to impress…" The woman went on, nodding to him. She caught sight of his distracted expression, frowning. "Professor? Are you alright?"

"Quite," He said back lightly, flipping to another screen on his tablet. Lance and Ulysses appeared, the swordsman looking to be bickering with his larger teammate as they continued to trudge through the forest. "Miss Goodwitch, please focus on Mr. Zaffre and Mr. Ebony."

The image zoomed out from the unsuspecting huntsmen- and just a short few dozen meters ahead of them, the trees shook and swayed as something massive began to make its way towards them, pushing the towering, ancient trees of the forest around with remarkable ease.

"I believe they may have some company."


	3. Chapter 2: The Bigger They Are...

Chapter 2: The Bigger They Are…

* * *

Wind whistled peacefully through the leaves of the Emerald Forest, a quiet serenity filling the woods; birds chirping amongst the boughs of the trees, woodland critters mulling through the underbrush. Life continued its peaceful march onwards in undisturbed harmony.

The peace was unceremoniously broken as something large came flying through the depths of the forest, smashing through the trees hard enough to shatter large pieces of them, before it finally reached the end of its descent, form crashing into the dirt and brush hard, tumbling meters away until it finally slid to a stop.

Lance stared down at the dirt for a moment, a breath spilling out through his lips- before his face twisted into one of absolute fury, teeth gritting together as he smashed a fist into the ground, hissing a curse out into the chill, early spring air. He shot back to his feet, lashing out to pick his greatsword up off of the ground.

The huntsman- irritatedly smoothing his hair back down- turned on his heel to march steadfastly back the way he'd come, the slab of steel he called a sword balanced on his shoulder as he began to pick his way back through the trees, pushing through the thick underbrush, a scowl affixed firmly to his face.

He let out a high, sharp whistle as he broke through into the clearing. "I'm gonna skin ya and wear ya as a coat, you overgrown chimpanzee!" He roared, pace picking up.

Ulysses' gaze turned towards the swordsman, a snarl crawling across his face- and was promptly swatted aside in his momentary distraction by a gargantuan, inky fleshed hand, the considerably large huntsman comparably small next to the hulking fist, his dark-clad hand flying off to the side, smashing into the trunk of a tree, a bark of pain escaping his lips.

The gorilla-like grimm snorted, deep-set, unsettlingly intelligent eyes turning towards Lance, its massive shoulders squaring up towards the swordsman.

He snarled back at it, greatsword falling to hang behind him as his muscles coiled in preparation. It let out a roar- and Lance returned the call, pushing off of the ground as he charged towards the beast, his oversized slab of a sword waving out around him.

Its parts shifted as the two combatants, blade sliding back to reveal a large barrel, its depths glowing a faint blue. He dropped into a slide as the Beringel took a wide swipe at him, hulking mitt ripping through the soil with ease, the swordsman narrowly dodging the attack. He fired, and a brilliant blue explosion rocked the clearing, hurling him up into the air with immense speed, jacket rippling around him as he reached his apex near the crown of the grimm's head. It turned quickly to him, red eyes meeting blue- and a brilliant smirk split the blonde's face.

He lashed out with his greatsword, steel blade carving into the bony plate of the creature's face, burying itself deep into its inky flesh. It lashed out wildly, roaring in pain and fury, stumbling through the forest as it tried in vain to lose the huntsman. He braced himself against its head with both boots, leaning back as he gave the flailing beast a look over. His grin widened as he casually placed another blue capsule into his gun, finger tightening around the trigger-

He never got the chance to fire, as a mass of black iron and steel slammed into the Beringel's cheek, rocking both it and the huntsman straddling it, Lance tumbling from his perch, his grip on his sword lost as he plummeted back down to the earth, landing hard as he rolled away. Furiously, he brought his head back up, glaring across the battlefield as Ulysses charged forwards, black smoke curling up from his body, his flail zipping back towards him, heavy chain disappearing up his sleeve. The grimm turned towards him with a roar, pounding a monstrously sized paw into the dirt, before taking off after the dark huntsman.

Ulysses grit his teeth, his own expression one of animalistic rage- his hand struck out, flail flying from his grasp, swinging out around him as the creature neared him with frightening speed. He let out a bellow, spittle flying from his mouth, heavy boots digging into the dirt as he braced himself, the mace coming around- in the nick of time, crashing heavily into the side of the beast, doubling it over with a howl of pain.

He let out a snarl as he began to storm towards it, more and more smoke beginning to curl up from his body, the pupils of his eyes slowly expanding to fill the white of his sclerae. A growl rumbled out of his chest as he neared the rocked body of the Beringel, his chain beginning to slink back into the depths of his sleeve. He brought his hand back up, flail raising back into the air- and Lance's boot crashed into his shoulder, the other one finding its way to his head, before vaulting off, hurling towards the inky flesh of the grimm's arm. He gave the brooding huntsman behind him a sardonic grin before turning back to his task at hand, deftly beginning to scale the recovering grimm, vaulting up towards where his greatsword had been embedded into the beast's crown. The Beringel pushed itself back to its feet, hateful gaze turning to meet Ulysses' own burning expression, before its attention turned towards the rapidly ascending Lance, a hefty hand reaching up towards him-

Too late, though, as he reached the Iron Maw, his hand reaching out giddily for its handle, finger wrapping around the trigger; and fired.

The huntsman flew freely from the beast, greatsword back firmly in hand, crashing back down into the dirt, rolling away from the Beringel, a pained bellow echoing out through the forest. Before he could recover, though, a massive hand gripped the front of his coat, hefting him back to his feet, and then into the air.

Ulysses seethed at the swordsman, a growl escaping his lips. "Stay out of my way!" He barked.

Lance kicked off of his partner, raising his blade to glare down the brooding huntsman. "The feeling's mutual, bud!"

"You're not getting another warning!"

"And neither are you- so why don't you butt out and let the professional actually take care of this thing. Friggin' amateur-"

The larger huntsman let out a growl as he raised his hand into the air, Avenger clutched tightly into his hand. He didn't get the chance to strike, though, as the familiar black shape of the Beringel barreled towards them, the grimm's hands slapping them away, the partners tumbling towards opposite sides of the clearings.

It's gaze shot back and forth between them furiously as they recovered- blue eyes met black, and unanimously, they charged back into the fight.

It swung out first for Lance, the swordsman barely side-stepping the swipe, greatsword raised to swing; he was forced to drop low, however, as Ulysses' flail tore through the air, crashing into the retreating arm of the Beringel. The blonde popped back to his feet, glaring at his partner. He lashed out with Iron Maw wildly, nearly cleaving into Ulysses' neck, the edge of the blade ripping into the flesh of the grimm.

The larger huntsman, his eyes now pools of black, the smoke rising off of his body thick like a bonfire's, let out a savage, infuriated roar, both hands crashing into the swordsman's blade, tearing it back out of the beast, the hooked tip of the blade carving into the ground below. Ulysses lashed out with a punch, Avenger flying from his grip to impact hard with the Beringel's neck, the creature stumbling.

Without sparing his partner another look, he leapt from the ground, bolting like a black blur into the creature's head, both crashing into the ground, a massive cloud of dust flying into the air.

Lance scowled as he took off after the two combatants- only for one of the Beringel's hands to crash into him, sending him hurtling away. Ulysses' gaze shot to the side as his partner disappeared from view, his face twisted into one of effort; as the grimm bore down on him, mouth wide open, towering, sharp canines trying in vain to reach the huntsman's body, Ulysses' hands outstretched as he held the beast at bay, growling at the strain, a yell beginning to echo out from his chest.

"THAT'S IT!" Lance roared, both the fallen huntsman and the grimm freezing, dual gazes turning to the swordsman- where he stood a few short meters away, his gun raised in the air, his free hand glowing with a small blue sphere. He scowled down feverishly at his partner and opponent, caked in dirt, hair a mess. " _KILLIN' YA BOTH_!"

Without a moment of hesitation, he gripped his free hand into a fist, and fired Iron Maw.

* * *

"Anyhow," Oracle continued on, tossing her chess piece into the air casually. "I'd a thought that they'd a been proud of me; it's everything I'd ever dreamed about, anyways, but nah. They'd gotten it in their heads that I'd come out here and die. That's ridiculous, right?"

Shinai simply hummed quietly, eyes closed, while the partners picked their way back the way they'd come, marching steadfastly back towards the cliff overlooking the forest, prize in hand.

"Y'know, if I'm botherin' ya, just say somethin'."

"You're bothering me."

"Well, damn. You're cold-blooded, Captain O."

His gait slowed. "…Captain… O."

"Yeah, Ca-" She gasped. "You don't know who Captain friggin' Opossum is?"

"I… can't… you're going to tell me anyways."

"Tell- ooh, boy, I'm gonna educate the hell outta ya. You'll learn. You'll learn, and you'll like it."

He let out a quiet sigh. "…Mhm."

"I'm gonna break through that stony exterior sooner or later, boy. You better just get-"

Boom.

Shinai's eyes snapped open, and their attentions both turned towards the top of the tree line, as a massive, blue, spherical explosion rocked the forest, the top of the blast visible even from their distance.

The partners exchanged glances, their minds made up unanimously, and they took off in mirror sprints through the forests.

* * *

Daria let out a quiet groan as she and her partner marched seemingly endlessly through the dark depths of the forest, the rhythmic sound of Phalanx walking beside her beginning to drone on. Her gaze turned up, to where Nash was perched atop his mech, sitting in the space its head would usually occupy, one leg hanging into the recess. He himself was slowly drifting off to sleep, one arm propping his head up, brilliant blue eyes fluttering as he tried in vain to stay awake.

"How are you holding up, up there?" She asked, breaking the silence.

He nodded slowly. "Mm…good."

"Falling asleep?"

"Mm…no. No'm not."

She shook her head, turning her gaze back towards the forest head. "…Sleep tight, bud."

"Mmkay… uh?" He roused slightly, staring down into the interior of Phalanx.

"Whas… b-r-b." He dropped inside, disappearing from view.

Daria turned back up to him with a slight frown. "Na- what?" There was a few beats of silence- before Phalanx's head returned to its position, one arm striking out in front of his partner, getting the girl to stop, jumping slightly.

"I'm sorr-"

"Stop." He muttered out lowly, voice reclaiming its deep, synthesized tone.

"I'm _sorry_?"

"There is a fight… 2.4 klicks southwest."

"Uh… okay?"

"Two huntsmen. One grimm."

"…Kay?"

"I want to join."

She blinked, face falling in confusion. "…Nash, it's a death forest. People fight. Why not just keep going on our way? Find the temple, or whatever?"

" _Because the challenge excites me_. Fight or leave. I don't care which."

With that, Phalanx turned hard on its heel, marching steadfastly into the depths of the forest, not giving his partner another look. She watched him go for a short moment, before rolling her eyes, kicking the dirt as she trudged off after him, cursing to herself quietly.

* * *

Lance rolled across the ground, face never losing its expression of absolute fury, spinning back to his feet, gaze taking in the situation around him, the dust beginning to settle around him. "Either of you still kickin'?!" He called out, staring at the spot he had just been blown from, a large black, burned stain marking where he'd stood.

A silhouette appeared in the dust, slowly marching out of it- Ulysses glared across the battlefield at his partner, his coat left behind in the explosion, eyes returned to normal.

"I hate you." He growled out.

"Yeah, the feeling's…" Lance trailed off, as a massive shadow began to loom over Ulysses, towering higher and higher. "…Oh, you've gotta be-"

A fist slammed into the hulking huntsman's back, sending him blasting towards his partner, grey-and-black clad form rolling across the dirt before coming to a stop, glaring at the ground, body beginning to tremble. In an uproar, he shot back to his feet, beginning to march back towards the reemerging Beringel- with Lance beside him.

The partners locked eyes, Lance's face twisting into a sneer, Ulysses' into a snarl. "Truce." The swordsman offered lowly.

The brooding huntsman stared down at him for a moment- before grunting in acquiescence, both warriors turning their gazes forwards.

Ulysses' hands snapped out, grabbing Lance's coat in both hands and, with one swift pirouette, hurled the swordsman back towards the grimm, blue eyes wide as he careened right into the chest of the creature, impacting with a loud crunch, before falling back towards the ground with a groan.

The Beringel looked between the two huntsmen in confusion, before letting out a growl, raising a mighty mitt into the air, looking to bring it down onto recovering blonde- instead, Avenger flew through the air, its aim true, burying itself into the bone covering the gorilla's face. Ulysses wasn't far behind it, tearing across the clearing to rejoin the fight, vaulting into the air as his flail returned to his hand, a roar ripping out of him.

He never made it, as Iron Maw flew through the air, catching the hulking huntsman in mid-leap, both sword and swordsman carving a path towards the Beringel, battering Ulysses out of the way. The greatsword cleaved into the beast's flesh, burying feet deep into its inky hide. Lance looked back to his fallen partner, spitting off to the side derisively, before leaping into the air, boots clattering into the handle of his blade, the length of steel ripping free and back into his hands, letting out a yell as he maneuvered to bring it down into the creature.

It was faster, though, both hands lashing out to grasp onto the huntsman, letting out a victorious roar, raising him high into the air, clenching him tightly enough to draw out a scream of pain. With one swift movement, it hurled him back down into the ground, Iron Maw tumbling out of reach. He groaned, blue eyes inching back open as he stared up at the looming grimm.  
With another roar, it raised two tightly balled fists in the air- and brought them down.

Two gunshots ripped through the clearing, sinking into the flesh of the beast, its attack routed at the last moment, a screech of pain echoing out across the battlefield as it stumbled back.

Lance slowly inclined his head back, staring towards his savior. Oracle stared right back at the beast, both revolvers raised high, smoke spilling from the barrels. She inclined her head, staring over the top of her sunglasses with a cocked eyebrow.

"New plan, boys!" She called out. "He's bought and paid for; we cruise on through here, eat like queens, beat the hell outta this dude, snatch up some chess pieces, and _away we go_."

Ulysses and Lance stared at her for a moment in mild states of shock, before-

Poof.

A dark cloud filled the air around the Beringel's head, whisked away quickly by the breeze; standing atop the grimm's crown, was Shinai. Without another moment of hesitation, he twirled his blade, and thrust it nearly hilt deep into its inky flesh.

It let out an ear-ringing howl of agony, ringing out over the clearing and into the forest beyond.

* * *

"Mmhm. Y-yeah." Gail muttered, staring down at her book, holding onto tightly, burying herself into its contents.

"'The Dance of… Something, Something', I can't quite recall," Rainier called over to her, the partners continuing on their thus far fruitless march through the forest. "However, the look on her face was absolutely smitten and, frankly, I felt somewhat abashed. I'd, of course, never intended to truly make any sort of romantic move on her,"

"Of course…"

"But she'd obviously been… shall we say… entranced? Entranced is a good word, yes?"

"Uh… mhm."

Pale gold orbs flicked down to her, the faunus' face filling with a twinge of irritation. "But that book before you, that is quite interesting, isn't it?"

She blinked, giving him a double take. "Oh! Oh- I- I'm- I'm sorry, I- I must've gotten- gotten buried in-"

"I… believe I recognize that," He said, leaning down to peer at the cover.

"Despite its age and well-worn exterior, that is… 'Ninjas of Love'?"

Gail jolted. "N-no! No, of- of course not, it-"

"A romance novel, how scandalous, Miss Cerulean! Ah, but do not fear, I am no stranger to romance; after all, my very accent is romantic, no?"

"Uh… I- I wouldn't-"

"My dear, you're far too quick to deflect or apologize! Carpe diem, my ancestors would say! Truthfully, you and I-"

The partners froze in their tracks as an all-engrossing shadow passed over them, their gazes shooting to the sky;

High above, the black form of a colossal bird-like creature flew, its form blotting out the sun, even from its massive distance. Rainier's ears cocked curiously, his head tilting to the side.

"Is that…" Gail began.

"Screaming coming from the bird? Yes, I believe it is. I see a little white speck and a little red speck atop the creature. Fascinating."

"H-huntsmen?"

"Hm, perhaps. This is a death forest, as the Professor so candidly put it."

"Should we…"

"…I suppose. It would be the polite thing to do-"

They didn't get the chance to follow on their thought, though, as a roar echoed throughout the forest, sounding much closer than the now disappearing form of the grimm.

The partners turned to each other, before looking back into the forest. He gestured with a flourish into the dark of Emerald Forest's depths. "After you, my dear. I'm _fascinated_ to see what made _that_."

She stared down the direction he'd pointed to, swallowing hard nervously. After a moment, she began to step off of the trail, disappearing into the collection of trees. Rainier lingered for a moment, gaze following after the form of the Nevermore. He sighed in slight disappointment, following after his partner.

* * *

Shinai ripped his katana free from the Beringel's head, leaping up and away as it swiped at him, skillfully avoiding the wild attack. The samurai fell gracefully down to the earth, landing in a smooth roll next to Lance, the swordsman pulling himself from the small crater he'd been buried in, lunging for his blade.

He looked up to his fellow swordsman, wiping dirt off of his mouth.

"You some kind of samurai?"

Shinai looked down to him for the briefest moment, before wordlessly turning his gaze back to the grimm before them, both swordsmen slowly backing away from it, the creature's eyes turning from each of the four huntsmen in turn, snorting in confusion and irritation.

"You got a plan?" Lance finally asked as they neared Oracle, Ulysses off to the side. "Red's plan was pretty good- and by that, I mean, not very good at all, so if you've got a better one, I'm all ears."

"Lotta trash talkin' from the guy I just saved from becomin' a pancake." The gunslinger shot back.

"I had it under control."

"Uh huh, sure, pal."

"Hey, y'know what? I've been fighting this damn ape for, like, an hour now, so you can shut it-"

The Beringel roared, pounding its hands against its chest, before charging towards the trio, mighty paws ripping through the soil.

Shinai tensed, the trio falling into defensive stances.

The grimm recoiled to the side, Avenger soaring to bury itself into the creature's face, taking it off of its course and into the trees. Ulysses snarled at the other three huntsmen. "Are we talking?!" He roared out. "Or are we fighting?!"

"That's Ulysses," Lance muttered. "He's an asshole."

"Spread out. Keep your spacing." Shinai barked. The swordsman and the gunslinger looked to him in slight confusion, getting his face to twist into a rare expression of irritation. "Move!"

"Ah! Okay, jeez!" Oracle snapped back as she and Lance skirted away from the samurai, Ulysses prowling on the opposite side of the Beringel, his flail returning to his hand, dark smoke beginning to curl from his body again.

"Oracle, keep your distance!" Shinai continued. "Swordsman, stay in close, between its legs if you need to- you!" He called over to Ulysses. "Aim for joints, keep it crippled and kneeling."

The hulking huntsman growled, but said nothing else, the four sets of gazes locked onto the recovering Beringel. The grimm shook its head as it lumbered back out into the open- its attention wheeled around it, the semblance of intelligence in its eyes registering its surrounded position. It, however, simply let out an enraged roar, smashing its hands against the dirt in challenge, before descending into a series of flinches as Oracle began to loose shot after shot at it, revolvers smoking wildly, heavy bullets ripping into its flesh with each pull of the trigger.

"Yeah, I'm comin'…" Lance muttered under his breath, before leaping into the air, turning as Iron Maw shifted, a cannon shot and explosion sending him hurtling towards the creature.

He spun and landed smoothly barely missing a wild swipe by the ape, dashing further towards it and between its legs, spinning as his greatsword found its mark into one of the creature's ankles. It took another swing at him, missing again as he twirled out of attack, blade slicing through its hand before the barrel of his cannon reemerged, quickly and smoothly popping a shot into it, effortlessly firing it into the flesh of the Beringel's mitt, sending its arm swinging back to its side.

It let out a screech of pain before leaping up and backwards, looking to smash both paws into the swordsman below- instead, Avenger collided into the side of its leg, taking it out of the air, its massive form crashing back down to the earth below, nearly missing the quickly retreating Lance.

Another cloud of smoke heralded Shinai, the samurai stepping through the purple to masterfully strike out a series of slashes across the gorilla's form, before disappearing again as it lashed out with a desperate strike, appearing behind, his katana burying itself into the back of its neck. It let out another bellow as it haphazardly climbed to its feet, swinging out at both swordsmen, both attacks missing as they dashed out of range.

It didn't get a chance to rise fully back to its feet, as Ulysses let loose with another vicious swing of his flail, the dark metal spikes burying into the back of its knee, taking it down onto one leg, before ripping his Avenger back out, swinging it wildly above the combatant's heads, finally finding its mark into the beast's elbow.

Lance held Iron Maw loosely out behind him as he charged back into the fight, leaping into the air, spinning it above his head, his other hand glowing blue. The greatsword found its way into the side of the grimm's face, and swiftly, he lashed out with his free hand, the punch letting out an explosion of blue energy, sending him hurtling away, the Beringel's head whiplashing backwards, the stumbling creature nearly impacting with Shinai before the samurai disappeared and reappeared a few, safe meters away.

The greatswordsman landed hard on the ground, Iron Maw buried into the earth as he slowed to a stop. He brought irritated blue eyes back up to the still living grimm. "I'm gettin' real sick and tired of you, dude."

Ripping his sword free, he dug his boots into the soil, preparing to rush back towards the beast- before he could get any semblance of traction, though, a sneaker collided with his shoulder.

"Tally _ho_!"

Rainier vaulted from the swordsman, his mechanical leg letting out a cannon shot- directly in Lance's ear- sending him soaring towards the Beringel with considerable speed. His Wolf's Claws impacted hard into the side of the beast's armored face, another shot ringing out through the forest. He pushed off with his non-metallic foot, and with a final fire of his cannon, buried a massive shell into the beast's flesh, hurtling back to safety.

The moment he was out of range, a flurry of glowing red arrows flew from the tree line, a number of small explosions echoing out as they impacted with the grimm's body, a roar of pain bellowing out from it as it was engulfed in dark smoke.

Rainier only hit the ground once, before pushing off and back to his feet, bowing lowly to the huntsmen around him. "Pardon our tardiness, my friends! And thank you, Miss Cerulean, spectacular shooting!" He turned to the other four around him, blinking in curiosity. "Ah, Mr. Zaffre and- Mr… Ulysses? Ebony! Mr. Ebony, a joy to see you again!"

"This day," Lance growled, wiping sweat and dirt from his brow. "Just keeps gettin' better and better."

The faunus winked at him, his gaze turning to the other two huntsmen, looking Oracle up and down- before idly settling on Shinai. He jolted, eyes widening in surprise. A smile slowly spread across his face. "Shinai Kyani."

" _Kyani Shin_ …" The samurai began quietly, before trailing off, shaking his head.

The Beringel lumbered out of the smoke- limping, and hurt, but still furious, roaring at the huntsmen continuing to surround it, the bone plates covering its body cracked, chipping, or broken altogether.

"I don't believe your friend likes us all too much!" Rainier called out, an empty shell falling out of his cannon as he took his casual battle stance.

Shinai looked him up and down assessingly for a quick moment, before nodding. "Blitz it if you can, keep it annoyed, don't stop moving."

The faunus snorted, giving the samurai a disbelieving smirk. "You'll… pardon me if I fight how I wish to fight."

With that, he was gone, dashing back towards the Beringel with ridiculous speed, reaching its side in only a few heartbeats. His cannon fired, sending him spiraling towards it; and then passed it, a kick and another cannon shot crashing against its surface. Before he soared too far passed the beast, though, he turned in the air, and fired again, sending him crashing back towards the ground, another kick slashing against its inky hide, before he hit the dirt hard, sliding several meters- and then leapt back into the air, repeating the process.

Lance growled as he took off at a run towards the grimm, repeating his explosive firing trick to sail back through the air to land beneath it, lashing out with his greatsword efficiently.

Shinai watched the duo for a moment in disapproval, before turning back towards Oracle- the partners shared a nod, the samurai disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The gunslinger turned back to the trees behind her. "Hey, archer!"

Gail appeared in the darkness; eyes wide at being addressed. "Y-yeah?"

"You got anything bigger than that?"

* * *

Rainier hit the ground hard, flipping backwards skillfully as one of the Beringel's fists crashed down into the dirt, leaving a small crater in its wake. He fell into a slide, eyes narrowing. "You are a tough one, I will give you that."

Lance growled as the grimm turned its attention to him, monstrous mitt nearly hitting him; before he raised his blade quickly, bracing it against himself, the sword slicing into the flesh between the creature's fingers, garnering a howl of agony as it ripped its limb back to its side. "Yeah, ya don't say, wolf!"

"Oh, but I do."

The swordsman shook his head- as Shinai reappeared, slicing across the beast's leg without missing a step, a flurry of strikes following as he nearly danced around the beast, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Finally, he disappeared in another cloud, filling the battlefield in dark smoke, before reappearing on the beast's shoulder, blade raised high. He plunged the katana into the side of the grimm's neck, then swiftly leapt from his perch, just barely dodging the massive form of Avenger crashing into the back of the creature's head.

Shinai twirled, blade carving into the Beringel's back, ripping a wound into its flesh as he fell. He gracefully pushed off, snatching his katana free, soaring away from the gorilla. He landed with hardly a sound next to Ulysses, his sword sheathed, but still held at the ready. The two dark-eyed huntsmen locked gazes, before the samurai nodded, taking off at a run, flanking around it, watching carefully as Lance hacked away at its legs, Rainier racing up and down its form, cannon shots rocking the creature with each impact, Ulysses swinging his flail out around his head, heavy blows crashing against any available space on the beast, Oracle and Gail still peppering the beast with a cavalcade of bullets and arrows- some explosive, some exploding into blocks of ice, others simply ripping through its flesh.

The samurai slid to a stop, looking out over the other five huntsmen, a look of assuagement washing over him, some of the tenseness leaving his body. As if on cue, the forest began to uproot behind him, his eyes widening, teleporting away to safety.

"LOOK OUT- MOVE, MOVE, _MOVE_!" A voice cried out from the trees. A blur of red, carried along by flaming thrusters, rocketed from the trees, soaring through the air to crash into the Beringel with a mighty crunch, the beast's eyes widening in shock and pain.

Phalanx's boots dug into the dirt as it continued to push the beast along, meter after meter, mechanical hands lashing out to grab onto the gorilla's leg- and with one Herculean effort, the machine pivoted hard, taking the beast off of its leg, and sent it tumbling away, the Beringel clearing most of the- now destroyed- battlefield.

Daria dropped from the mech stumbling away as she fought to regain her bearings. She held up a hand as she took a deep breath in. "Oh gods, I'm never doing that again."

Phalanx, though, never took its gaze off of the grimm. "…You're huge," He muttered lowly. "Which means you've got huge guts."

Lance stared at the mech for a long few moments, before a grin slowly claimed his expression, a small laugh escaping him. "That's… that's friggin' awesome."

"Focus!" Shinai called out as the Beringel began to stir. "It's not over yet."

"Are you _kidding me_?!"

Ulysses was the first to jump back into action, spinning Avenger at his side as he took off back towards the grimm, his body again like a bonfire. He let out a wild roar as he leapt into the air, his flail hanging behind him as he let more and more chain fall from his shirt, the weapon gaining more and more momentum as it flew towards the grimm. The flail found its mark, crashing against the beast's head, sending it back down into the dirt.

Phalanx thundered past Ulysses, hulking fist of its own burying itself into the chin of the beast, before another punch found its mark dead center in the Beringel's face, a satisfying crack echoing out around the clearing, a spider-web splintering out across the bone plate, the beast sliding away from the impact. The mech and Ulysses' locked gazes- pitch black meeting glowing green. Without so much as a nod, the two hulking warriors began to close in on the shaken, recovering creature.

"Hey!" Oracle called out from across the battlefield. "Big boys! Get 'im upright!"

The two huntsmen gave her the decency of brief glances of acknowledgment- before Phalanx rocketed back forwards, a thruster-fueled uppercut sending the Beringel jolting upwards. Avenger followed suit afterwards, arcing up and into the grimm's head again, further lifting the absolutely rocked creature back to a vertical base.

The rockets on Phalanx's back lit up even brighter, even getting the rampaging, barely cognizant Ulysses to shy away from the heat. The red mech leapt from the ground with a thunderous roar, its massive form soaring towards the swaying creature.

"PHALANX CALLING!" The distorted voice bellowed out, before crashing hard into the beast's head, getting it to lumber sloppily back out into the middle of the battlefield, struggling to stand, its stupefied gaze turning to the archer and gunslinger.

Oracle grinned as she stared down the iron sights of her raised revolver; golden energy flowed over her body, following the swooping trails in her duster, up into her gun, and into her eyes, the verdant green now the same brilliant gold, a matching dust or smoke rising off of her form.

Her hand trembled as she carefully lined up the shot. "Great delivery, boys, you're doin' great! And jackpot!"

She pulled the trigger.

An ear-shattering gunshot rang out over the battlefield, as a glowing golden supernova-like bullet exited the revolver, all of the energy racing over her form pouring into the shot. It cut through the air with ease, the bullet finding its mark dead in the center of the beast's head, a small explosion ringing out as it ripped through and shattered the bone mask adorning its face, tunneling deep into its flesh.

The gunslinger turned over her shoulder towards the trees, letting out a sharp whistle. Deep within, Gail winced hard- she was currently bracing herself on one of the forest's monstrously sized tree-branches. Her bow had doubled in size, towering over even her considerable height, the bottom limb of the weapon buried into the wood of the tree. Held in her hand was a gargantuan arrow, glowing red, her arm pulled as far back as she could muster, entire body trembling with the effort.

Finally, with one last wince, she released the missile, the sound of the bowstring snapping back into place incredibly audible, as the great arrow soared through the trees and out into the clearing. The arrow flew true, burying itself precisely in the same spot Oracle's golden shot had torn through.

There was a beat of silence, before- _boom_.

The titanic explosion rocked the clearing, a shockwave flying out over the huntsmen, a thick cloud of dark smoke encasing the Beringel's head. The eight warriors watched quietly as the grimm slowly teetered- and then fell limply to the ground, its head missing entirely from its body.

It nearly collapsed onto Rainier, before the faunus casually stepped to the side, taking a place beside Shinai, the colossal weight of the grimm's dead weight impacting onto the ground shaking the earth itself. The Vacuoan hummed thoughtfully, carefully prodding the beast with his mechanical limb. "Hm… yes, I believe it is dead! Perhaps, but you can never be too certain, no?"

The tension drained from the clearing. Ulysses stumbled to the side, his eyes returned to normal, body devoid of smoke, resting his considerable mass against one of the trees, shaking his head with an exhausted sigh. Lance, similarly, simply dropped to the ground, sword beside him, with a groan, laying his head back- one hand, trembling with exertion, reaching up to smooth the mess that was his hair back into place. "Thank. Every god. All of 'em."

Oracle sauntered over towards him, raising an eyebrow, perching her sunglasses onto the tip of her nose. "I think a _thank you_ 's in order for the rest of us here, hon."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. We had it handled."

"You're just as delusional as you are pretty."

"Flattery'll get you nowhere, cowboy."

Shinai shook his head as he gave the dissipating Beringel one last look over. "Well done. Oracle; we're leaving."

She rolled her eyes as she began to pick her way over to her partner. "Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a twist, Shin."

" _Shinai_."

"Whatever."

The duo began to make their way out of the clearing- before Oracle stopped, tilting her hat back. "Ah, 'fore I forget- the temple's back-"

Shinai raised a hand sharply into the air, getting her to freeze owlishly. "It's their task to find the temple on their own. We will not diminish the difficulty of their test. We're moving."

He began to march onwards without another word, leaving no room for argument. The gunslinger watched him go, blowing air out dramatically. "Well… sorry, kids. Mean ol' Mr. Kyani says no. Good luck, though! Hope to see y'all in one piece! It's chess pieces, by the way!" She began to saunter after him, shaking the pain out of her gun hand with a wince.

"YOU FRIGGIN' _ASSHOLE_!" Lance barked after the departing duo, throwing a rock their way for good measure. With a snarl, he climbed back to his feet, using Iron Maw to hold him up. "Whatever. Stupid, friggin'…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Come on, Ebony. Let's find this stupid temple… Hey, wolf!" He called over, getting Rainier to turn to him. "…Nice fightin' back there. You actually make it to Beacon- you need a sparring partner; I'm your man."

Rainier gave a short chuckle. "I will certainly think about it, Mr. Zaffre. Enjoy your hike."

"Yeah, yeah…" The swordsman dragged himself over to where Ulysses had reclaimed his coat, the partners quietly picking their way back into the forest, disappearing from view.

The remaining four huntsmen stood quietly in the clearing, Gail silently creeping up to join her own partner. The faunus looked over to Daria.

"Spectacular fighting for you as well, my dear."

Daria shook her head. "It was- wait, no, I didn't fight-"

"No. You didn't. That was the joke, no?"

"Is he always like this?"

Gail gave her a small, strained smile.

" _Always_ ," Rainier affirmed, giving her a bow. "But you there, in the red! That was truly, non-sarcastically excellent work!"

Phalanx slowly turned to the faunus… and with a swift blur of movement, Nash's tousled hair replaced the red helm of the mech. "THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED! Did you see the big guy?! He was like _phwoah_! And you were just like, zippin' back and forth like _woosh-woosh-woosh_! And Mr. Kyani was like, everything I'd thought he'd be- do you think he'd mind if asked for his autograph, aah! So much to take in!"

Rainier stared at the boy for a long, _long_ few moments. "I… well… I… suppose that… Yes, Miss Cerulean, we should be off. You two, enjoy… your hike- _dammit_ , I already had said that, _blast_ …" The grin found his face again, and he bowed lowly. "We bid you adieu- and, if it helps; I am partial to the Queen piece," He turned on his heel back towards Gail. "Come, Miss Cerulean. I'd rather be done with this forest _before nightfall_ if at all possible."

Gail turned her small smile back towards the remaining two huntsmen. She gave them tiny waves, eyes not meeting theirs, before turned to follow her partner.

Daria watched them go, gaze shifting over to where Nash was still buzzing giddily. "Alright. Come on then, Nash. You can tell me all about it on the way to the temple."

The final pair of huntsmen began to march in step back into the forest, Nash joyously recalling the fight, words coming a mile a minute, as they left behind one trashed and tattered clearing, the massive body of the Beringel slowly dissipating into smoke behind them.


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon

Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon

* * *

"Russell Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester."

As Professor Ozpin finished speaking, the audience burst out into applause, pride washing over the masses assorted into the auditorium, a mixture of the passing first year students, older students, and the gathered faculty of the academy. Four huntsmen ascended the stairs to the stage, shaking the Professor's hand as they marched towards the back of platform, lining up as a team alongside the other groups already gathered.

Lance tossed his chess piece in the air nervously, staring over its black surface with a more than a little anxiousness. Ulysses simply offered him a non-impressed side-eye.

"Kassandra Masthio. Regal Thesia. Atalanta Boringer. Teal Waxxon. You four retrieved the white pawn pieces. From this day forwards, you will be known as Team KRAT, led by Kassandra Masthio." Another group of students ascended to the stage, beaming under the bright lights as they talked to each other in feverish, excited whispers.

The crowd settled from its round of applause; all eyes locked onto the silver-haired professor stood high above. He took a drink from his mug, before clearing his throat, looking at the tablet in front of him. "Ulysses Ebony. Lance Zaffre-" The two partners shot to attention; blue gaze meeting black for a rare moment of mutuality. "Kyani Shinai. Oracle Carmine. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forwards you will be known as Team SOUL, led by Kyani Shinai."

Lance frowned as he and his partner began to amble through the crowd to the foot of the stairs, mulling the other members of his team's names' and the familiarity of them; until the aforementioned samurai and gunslinger stepped forwards to meet them. The swordsman's face dawned in understanding. "You two, huh? What's the odds of that?"

"Pretty low," Oracle muttered, expression pulled into one of distaste. "Pretty dang low."

"And the cowboy," The swordsman shot back. "I was kind of hoping not to have to see… _that_ again." He waved his hand in her face, frowning. She quickly lashed out, slapping the offending limb away. He pulled back, wincing. "Come on, Carmine, come on!"

Shinai stepped between them, stony, cold eyes washing over his team. Without a word spoken, he began to ascend the steps. The two chippier members of the team stilled uncertainly, sharing a quick look as Ulysses marched passed them. The samurai shook Ozpin's outstretched hand, bowing lowly.

"Congratulation, Master Kyani," The professor said, offering a slight head nod of his own. "Your own master would be proud of you."

"…Thank you." Shinai said quietly as he walked evenly towards the back of the stage.

The other three members followed after their leader, the Professor giving Oracle a warm smile, handshake, and congratulations; opting to simply give Ulysses a respectful nod; and as he shook Lance's hand, his grip tightened slightly, staring over the spectacles perched onto his nose curiously. "I am excited to see what you do here, Mr. Zaffre."

The swordsman looked between their outstretched hands, then back to the Professor, beginning to slowly wander passed him. "…Thanks…" He began the march to join his teammates, giving Ozpin a confused look. The headmaster, for his part, had already turned away, looking back down to his tablet.

"And what was that?" Oracle muttered, giving him a suspicious side-eye.

"…It rhymes with shmone-ya-shmusiness." He shot back quietly.

"I _severely_ dislike you, boy."  
"It's alright, I only date sevens and up anyways."

Her hand tightened around the revolver at her hip, eyes narrowing, daring him to say another word.

"Carmine, Zaffre," Shinai cut in, voice clipped, his form stock-still, gaze forwards. "Be respectful." His tone left no room for argument, never offering his teammates a single glance.

Lance's eyes narrowed onto his leader, but he closed his mouth nonetheless, hands folding behind his head as he leaned backwards, chewing on the rapidly staling piece of gum in his mouth.

* * *

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team JNPR," Ozpin continued.

The crowd applauded as the quartet picked their way through the crowd, the latter girl- a shorter, muscular ginger haired huntress, dressed heavily in pink and pastel blue- excitedly hugging the latter boy- a taller, thinner boy, dark haired, dressed in ornate green and gold, Jaune and Pyrrha bringing up the rear behind them.

Daria gave a small, but supportive smile as she watched her old classmate go, clapping as the redhead ascended the steps.

"Led by Jaune Arc." Ozpin finished.

Daria's smile slowly fell, replaced by one of confusion; a sentiment shared by the crowd, the raucous applause- mostly aimed towards Pyrrha- quieting slightly. Jaune himself froze in his tracks, blinking owlishly as he pointed to himself, staring at the Professor with a blank stare.

Pyrrha though, good-naturedly bumped her shoulder into his; and sent him stumbling, nearly to the ground, the crowd taking the opportunity to laugh at his expense, the mood in the room returning to its congratulatory air. The four huntsmen marched to join their fellow students in the back, the elite huntress giving her new leader some reassuring words.

"That's weird." Nash mumbled quietly, leaning against his partner, arms crossed over his chest.

Daria snorted, shaking her head. "Yeah. Yeah it is."

"I mean, i's Pyrrha fricking Nikos."

"Yep."

"She's, like, the best huntress of all time."

"Uh huh."

"She's even on cereal boxes! Now I want some Pumpkin Pete's."

"We'll get you some Pumpkin Pete's, Nash."

"Hehe, _yay_."

Ozpin turned back forwards, looking down to his tablet. "Rainier Platina. Nash Aspis. Daria Copper. Gale Cerulean. You all retrieved the white queen pieces. From this day forwards, you will work as Team DRGN,"

Daria, her partner in step, began to push their way through the crowd to join their new teammates at the foot of the stage- she, though, slowed, face falling into one of contemplation, eyebrows furrowing. "… _D_ -R-G-N?"

"Led by Daria Copper."

She froze in her tracks entirely, mouth falling agape.

Nash blinked, doing a double take behind him at his leader. "…Wait… _you're_ Daria Copper!" He let out an over-dramatic gasp, hands flying to his cheeks, eyes snapping wide open.

She wasn't given a chance to recover, as gut-busting, cackling laughter called out from the side; Rainier had stepped into view, tears welling in his eyes, doubled over in genuine hysterics. He raised a hand and pointed to her, disbelievingly, his laughter trailing off into small chuckles and giggles.

" _You_?!"

His laughter came anew as he began to walk past her, making his way up the steps. Daria simply continued to stand and blink, Gail passing her, giving her a small, supportive smile. Her partner began to walk backwards, shocked gaze still locked onto her, awkwardly finding his way up the stairs.

The newly minted leader of DRGN shakily began to walk forwards to join her teammates, dragging herself forwards, warm gaze locked onto the ground, a machine-gun fire of questions whispered under her breath in disbelief. When her eyes met the well-shined black shoes of the headmaster, she slowly brought her attention back up to his face, her expression and body-language asking her pressing question silently.

He extended his hand to hers- reaching down to take it when she didn't immediately react- shaking it. "Congratulations, Miss Copper. You may have several questions-"

"Why."

"-But my decision is final. I picked you for a reason," He gave her a wink. "Don't let me down."

And without another word, Ozpin turned back forwards, beginning to list off another group of names. She continued to stare at him, until Nash latched onto her, bodily dragging her away.

"This is gonna be _amazing_!" He squeaked out excitedly. "You're going to be the bestest leader _ever_ , aaah!"

Her shell-shocked gaze finally turned to him, then to the other members of her team, Rainier finally managing to wipe the tears from his eyes, taking a deep breath in.

He smirked down at her. "He is correct about one thing- this is going to be beyond amazing."

She said nothing, taking her place at the front of her team, looking down lines and huddles of over huntsmen, taking each group- and their leaders- in. Her gaze met Pyrrha's, and the redheaded huntress smiled brightly, giving her old classmate double thumbs up, mouthing 'congrats!'. Jaune, similarly, leaned off, giving her an understanding, flat stare of his own, nodding solemnly.

'I know,' he mouthed. 'I know.'

The world came crashing back to Daria, and her shoulders slumped, a heavy, disappointed groan escaping her lips, her face buried into her hands.

Rainier clapped a hand onto her shoulder, nodding as he stared out at the auditorium. "Cheer up, Dearest Daria, it could be worse… you could be that Arc boy."

Another groan spilled out from her, the girl dropping into a crouch, dwelling in her own misery, even as the faunus beside her grinned broadly.

* * *

"And finally; Blake Belladonna," Ozpin began. "Weiss Schnee. Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose."

Oracle's eyes went wide, stiffening like she was struck by lightning. Without much ceremony, she began to push her way passed her team and the other assorted students around, trying desperately to reach the front of the crowd now gathered onto the stage, peering anxiously over and around anyone in her way.

Her eyes caught a flash of bright yellow, a buzzing streak of red.

"Git- get _outta the way_!" She snapped, trying to muscle her way forwards.

"That will be all, students," Ozpin called, shifting his attention back and forth between the remnants of the crowd below, and the huntsmen behind him. "For you first-year students, the location and keycards for your dorms will be given to you on your exit. For all second to fourth year students, you will be returning to your previous dorms. I wish you all good luck for this term; your first sessions will begin tomorrow morning. This promises to be an interesting year."

Oracle let out a growl of frustration as the assorted teams began to file away, the auditorium ceasing its respectful silence, a loud hubbub rolling across the stage as the large hall began to empty out.

"Cowboy," Lance called out, getting her attention to turn back to him. "Get a move on, I wanna see what kinda seventh heaven of a room these people set us up with!"

Her gaze turned back to the whirring crowd around her, the brief flashes of familiarity lost among the sea of excited faces. Finally, she slumped in resignation, turning to follow the rest of her team out into the cool night air, the pillar of black that signified Ulysses already well ahead of her other teammates.

Shinai extended a hand to her as she joined him and the swordsman outside, a small piece of paper held between his fingers. She took it with a cocked eyebrow, looking over the slip, neat, printed letters inked against its surface.

"Our dorm room, academic, and weapon locker numbers," He clarified stiffly. "You will be meeting Ebony at the room." He turned to march onwards, his pace even and formal.

Oracle and Lance exchanged a quick glance, before the latter stopped in his tracks, folding his arms across his chest. "And where are you going?"

The samurai stopped, turning to give his teammates a quick, flat stare. "…I'm going for a walk."

He left without another word, both hands resting peacefully on the hilt of his katana.

The two remaining members of the newly minted SOUL watched him go for a moment. Lance rolled his eyes, taking off after Ulysses. "You do what you want, I'm going to bed."

Oracle stared after him quietly, idly reaching into her pocket, fishing out her own electronic Scroll, green eyes staring down at its screen debatingly. Finally, she let out a sigh, pocketing it, following her other teammates away, hands buried in her pockets, gaze turned upwards to the shattered moon hanging high above.

* * *

"Sword guy!" Nash called out, his teammates jumping at the random outburst from the young huntsman.

Similarly, Lance also jolted, turning on his heel in surprise, hands raised in a fighting stance. His shock faded, eyes looking over Team DRGN, settling onto Nash. "…Do I know you?"

"I was the suit boy! When we were fighting the monkey-ape-gorilla-thing!" The smaller blonde said, rushing over to the swordsman's side, Oracle catching up to them.

"…Honestly, you weren't what I was expecting," He looked the boy up and down again, before a smirk crawled across his face. "…But I think I will call you _mini-me_."

Nash let out a gasp, eyes twinkling as he stared up at Lance.

"Zaffre," Oracle muttered. "Don't be an ass to him, he's a cinnamon roll."

"My mama always said I was sweet." The boy said, his attention turning quickly to the gunslinger, shifting bashfully under the attention.

She reached out, grabbing his face playfully. "Boy, you are just too pure for this world."

He giggled, shimmying gleefully. Like a switch, however, his gaze turned to the retreating back to Ulysses, another gasp escaping him. "Big angry guy! You were great! You were like phwoah! I wanna fight more stuff with you!"

The hulking huntsman stopped in his place, looking at Nash out of the corner of his eye, dark gaze far from impressed. Wordlessly, he continued to stalk away from the group, steadfastly heading towards the dormitories.

"What kinda _soulless being_ could resist this cutie?" Oracle muttered, reaching out to hug the boy against her.

Lance shook his head, his gaze turning to the rest of DRGN. "I dunno who rigged this chit, but I kinda find it hard to believe we all made the same teams."

"Well," Rainier said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I had suggested to our dear Daria here what piece to choose from the temple-"

"And what a great idea that was." His leader mumbled, irritated gaze turning to the side.

"-But yes, I agree. Rather… providential, no?"

"Whatever you say, wolf," Lance said, turning his gaze away. "I still want that match with you."

"Just say when." Rainier said, smile twisting, voice lowering.

"You'll know when."

The duo stared off for a long moment, Daria looking back and forth between them, face slowly twisting into a frown. "I… uh… I don't… know what's going on here."

The stare-off continued for another beat- before Rainier's face brightened again. "Oh, do not worry about it, dearest Daria, simply… making new friends."

"Heh… yeah… _friends_." Lance managed to chuckle out between grit teeth.

Oracle rolled her eyes, releasing her grip on Nash, beginning to march away from the other students. "Yeah, aight. You do whatever you want, little weirdo. Nice seein' y'all again. We'll do lunch some time." With a wave, she began to meander after Ulysses.

The swordsman rolled his eyes, combing his hair back before folding his hands behind his head. "Well… both duty and hicks call. Catch ya later, DRGN."

"Until next time." Rainier said, bowing slightly.

"Deuces." With that, he left, leaving the four remaining students alone in the dark, a breeze washing over them.

"I'm going," Daria muttered. "Uh… _we're_ going. If you want. To the dorm."

The faunus gave a chortle, looking out over the well-lit campus. "I would rather go for a walk- and that is _exactly_ what I'm going to do. I pray you find our room in a timely manner. _Hasta la proxima, mis amigos_." The wolf sashayed away- with Nash in tow, the boy's blue eyes locked onto his teammate's leg and tail, wide with fascination.

"Oh, cool!" Daria called out after them. "Just leave us to find it, by ourselves, whatever!" She shook her head as the duo disappeared into the night. She turned her gaze to Gail, an eyebrow cocked- the archer flinched reflexively at the sudden attention. "You're… Gail?"

"Uh- y-yeah. Gail. Cerulean."

"…Daria."

"N-nice to, um… meet you."

The huntresses stood awkwardly for a moment. The leader of DRGN groaned quietly, taking off towards the dormitories. "You ever feel like you made a big mistake, Gail?"

"Uh… y-yes?"

"Cool… glad we're on the same page."

* * *

"And then I then I was like ' _try me_ ' and then I slammed 'im into the ground, like, a dozen times, and yeah, it was great!"

Rainier let out a chuckle at the boy beside him, Nash bouncing around his teammate, bursting with energy. "How fascinating, my little friend. And this… Phalanx, was it?"

"Yeah! Watch!"

"…Watch?"

With one swift motion, Nash ripped his Scroll free from his pocket, a flurry of buttons being pushed. The faunus stared at him in confusion for a long moment.

The confusion faded as the distant sounds of roaring fire became apparent… then became increasingly louder. With a roar of jet-fire and shifting metal, Phalanx came crashing down beside the two huntsmen, shattering the concrete tile below, and getting Rainier to jump in shock.

"Aha!" He laughed out, slightly nervously, looking the mech up and down. "Yes! Phalanx."

"Uh huh!" Nash called, scaling the machine quickly. "He's great!"

"Yes, I can-" Rainier began.

"And just what is the meaning of this?!" A voice cried out, filled with indignation.

Both members of DRGN turned their heads curiously, picking out the source of the call; four huntresses were walking up to them, the source of the fury storming ahead of her teammates; short and slight, skin, eyes, and fashionable clothes all incredibly pale, her hair an even lighter color than Rainier's own, a splash of red the only color marking her.

"I'm not quite certain what you mean." Rainier said, crossing his arms, leaning against Phalanx.

"You two Neanderthals nearly gave us a heart attack!" She spat back, marching up directly into the faunus' face.

"'M sorry," Nash muttered abashedly, head bowed. "I didn' mean to."

"Aw," One of the other huntresses cooed; taller and more muscular than the rest, dressed in brown leathers, her hair long and blonde. "Look at him! How could you be mad at that!"

"Cute or not, it is a breach in both protocol and professionalism!"

"May I ask _who_ exactly you are?" Rainier said, tilting his head to the side.

The shortest of the quartet rolled her eyes with a sigh, gleaming silver in color- her hair dark, matching the majority black of her clothes, highlighted in red. "Oh, here we go."

"Who am I?" The pale girl snapped. " _You don't know who I am_?"

The faunus shrugged. "As well as you know not who I am."

Her gaze shifted down to the tail hanging behind him, eyes narrowing as her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh. I know _exactly_ what you are."

Rainier stiffened- matching the reaction of the huntress bringing up the rear of the quartet, her own golden eyes shooting to the forerunner of the confrontation; she was similarly dressed in black, skin a shade darker than her teammates, hair long, black and wavy, a like-wise shaded bowtie sitting perched on her head, almost comically large.

The faunus looked the huntress before him up and down, recognition slowly filling his face. "Well- if you are aware of what I am, you may as well be aware of who I am," He took a step back, bowing lowly with a flourish. "You may call me Rainier Platina of Vacuo, formerly of Oasis Academy, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo. How do you do?"

The pale huntress' scowl slowly faded as he prattled on, leaning back again, looking his form up and down with newfound interest, almost reassessing him. "Oh. _Well_ ," She cleared her throat, straightening up formally. "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy repellant on Remnant." She gave him a slight curtsy back.

"Oh, I know," He smiled at her. "My family bought Dust from yours, once upon a time."

She blinked in surprise. "Oh! Well- of course, if your family had the sense to do so."

His smile didn't fade. "Once upon a time. Unfortunately, as the heralded Schnee Dust Company experienced a change in… management, shall we say, and the knowledge of both your family's mistreatment of my kind as well as the sudden loss of your backbone became common knowledge, the Platinas of Vacuo, as well as most of Vacuo in particular, ceased to have… well, anything to do with you and yours. Oh, yes, Miss Schnee. I am well aware of your family."

The pale huntress' face slowly reddened, hands tightening into fists at her side, fury filling her expression. She took a hard step forwards, leaning up into his face- his expression still cool as ever- preparing to retort, before the blonde stepped between them, pushing Weiss back.

"Aaand that's enough of that. You two fight whenever you want, but right now- I really wanna go to bed." She said, looking back and forth between the two scions.

Rainier shrugged, peering around the huntress. "I meant no offense, of course, Miss Schnee; I saw an opportunity to educate you on matters outside your purview and took it. No harm intended, and no offense taken, yes?"

"Do not talk to me." The heiress hissed back, stepping away from him, withdrawing from the conversation.

The blonde watched her go, leaning into Rainier conspiratorially. "…That was pretty awesome," She muttered quietly, before taking a step back, extending her hand. "Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet ya."

"You already heard the spiel," The faunus said, taking the hand; lifting it to his mouth to plant a kiss on the back. "You, however, may call me Rainier. That is one Nash Aspis, and that-" He turned to the mech. "Is Phalanx."

Yang leaned away from him, looking between him and her hand in slight impressment. "Mr. Old School over here. That's Ruby and Blake." She said, gesturing to the red-clad and black-clad huntresses in turn.

"Hi." Ruby managed, giving him a small, nervous wave.

"That was quite the speech," Blake added, smiling to him. "I've actually heard of the Platinas. You have a very respected family."

"To some," Rainier said, smile thinning slightly. "Nevertheless, _you_ -" He pointed to Ruby. "I recognize!"

"Oh! You- you, uh, do?" She asked, frowning in confusion.

"You were hanging from that Nevermore today, in the forest! You and Miss Schnee."

"Oh," She rubbed the back of her neck, laughing nervously, eyes shifting over to the confused face of Yang. "You, uh… saw that."

"It was quite a sight. I'm impressed with the audacity."

"It was, uh… not really a choice we... intentionally made."

"Is your friend alright?" Blake cut in, gesturing towards the other side of Phalanx; Nash was leaning against his mech, his body limp, head dropped backwards, snoring loudly.

"I…" Rainier kicked the boy, getting him to jolt awake.

"'M UP, 'm awa…" His head began to lean to the side again, quickly drifting off back to sleep.

"I… he is still a puzzle to me," The faunus muttered. "I believe that that is my cue to be off," He bowed lowly to the trio of huntresses. "Goodnight, Team RWBY. And do tell Miss Schnee that it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance."

"Oh, sure, that'll go over well. Nice meetin' ya, Rainier." Yang muttered, the huntresses beginning to march off after their departing teammate.

"Goodnight." Ruby muttered quietly.

"It was good to meet you." Blake said with a small smile- and the trio were gone.

Rainier watched them leave for a quiet moment, before nudging Nash. "Come then, my friend. Let us depart for our room."

He nodded sleepily, barely registering the words spoken. Sluggishly, he began to climb Phalanx, dropping like dead weight into the opening at the top. After a moment, the mech began marching, the distinct sound of Nash snoring loudly emanating from its core.

The faunus shook his head, hands burying into his pockets as the duo began to make their way to their dorm room, the shattered moon shining brightly high above them.

The teammates marched along quietly for a few moments, the night silent outside of the loud, rhythmic sounds of Phalanx's movements. Rainier's gaze dropped from the starry sky above, his gaze scanning over the campus around them- before settling on something in the distance, his gait slowing.

His yellow gaze turned to Phalanx- and he began to peel away from his teammate, turning to walk away from the massive dormitories looming ahead of them.

* * *

Shinai stepped forwards silently, his eyes closed as he walked onwards, breathing the cool spring air in soothingly, his boots clacking against the concrete tiles beneath him. His non sword hand rested on his katana's hilt, idly sliding it in and out of its sheathe comfortingly.

Reality whirred back to him as he suddenly stopped in place, teetering forwards slightly as a shocked gasp greeted him. His eyes snapped open as he looked to the person he'd been moments away from crashing into.

Pyrrha backstepped quickly, her hand to her chest as she looked him over. "Ah, I'm so sorry, I hadn't seen you there!"

He bowed his head slightly. "No, I was the one not looking. I apologize."

They locked gazes for a moment, and quickly, recognition flooded through them. Pyrrha's face lit up in shock. "Kyani!"

"Pyrrha Nikos." He returned, bowing lowly to her.

"It's been some time!"

"It has."

"Not since-"

"Our finalist fight, no."

"The Mistral Regionals, yes. How have you been?"

"I've… I have been alright. Thank you." He said as they began to walk alongside each other, heading towards one of the railings that overlooked the lower level of the campus, an ornate fountain trickling calmly down below.

"I… hadn't expected you of all people would come to Beacon," She said, looking him over. "At all, actually."

"It… circumstances change."

Her face split into a warm smile. "Well, it's good to see you, Mr. Kyani. You look..." She trailed off, unsure of her words. "Better! Healthier."

"You as well. I... am, better. Thank you. Your record is still undefeated?"

"I-" Her face began to redden. "I had-"

He shook his head. "I'm not bitter about our match. You were the better huntress. I acknowledge that. At the time, I acted unbecomingly. I apologize for that. I was just… curious."

She let out a small sound of understanding, head falling. "Well… yes. I am… still undefeated!" Her tone came across strained. He nodded in understanding of his own, gaze turning out towards the horizon. "…Trouble sleeping?"

Shinai sighed. "No, I…" He trailed off as distant whistling began to cut through the air like a song. After a moment, the sound was joined by the uneven clatter of steel on concrete interspersed with the familiar padding of sneakers. The two warriors turned curiously, watching as Rainier walked up to them, his eyes turning from the night sky to their faces.

A smile split his face, bright with recognition. "Ah!" He called out. "Pyrrha Nikos and Shinai Kyani."

"Kyani Shinai." The samurai shot back evenly.

"Of course, of course."

"I'm… sorry," Pyrrha said, tone thick with embarrassment. "You know who I am, but… I don't know who you are."

He cleared his throat, bowing with a flourish. "Rainier Platina, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo, son of the house of Platina, and favorite son of Vacuo. It's a pleasure."

Pyrrha looked over to Shinai with an unsure smile, the samurai shaking his head. "It's… a pleasure to meet you too, Rainier."

He rose back to his feet, looking back and forth between them. "I knew I recognized you in the forest, Mr. Kyani! It was a privilege to fight alongside you," The samurai's gaze fell to him, offering a small nod, but otherwise quiet. "Even I, a… backwoods Vacuoan know of your legends. Your records speak for themselves, of course."

"You know quite a lot about professional fighting then?" Pyrrha said, leaning against the railing.

"Of course! My name may be buried in the far reaches of the desert, but I'm far from ignorant when it comes to individuals who rival my prowess, such as yourselves. Yet, here we stand; a Mistrali, a Vacuoan, and a samurai. Three of the most talented fighters in our generation."

That drew a small, surprised laugh from Pyrrha. "You're very modest, Rainier!"

"Don't be naïve, my dear Miss Nikos," The Vacuoan said. "You two speak for yourselves, of course, you need not a poor faunus to tell you of your own skill. Myself, however…" His expression turned smug. "You will have to excuse my own braggadocio, but I would comfortably place myself amongst you two- no disrespect to either of you, of course. We may well be alone as the top students in this school."

Pyrrha shook her head, the warmth slightly fading from her face, gaze quickly shooting to Shinai, then back to Rainier. "Braggadocio is a… good word for it. What... do you mean by 'top students'?"

"We are being assessed at all times, don't misunderstand that. Most of the faculty here would more than likely admit to it, if you simply asked. Are we being ranked? Most likely. I'm not sure of you, but I more than intend to keep a top position, no?"

The lone huntress among the trio sighed, giving him a small smile. "I hadn't expected you to be quite so… cynical."

He shrugged, straightening back up. "It's quite a good approach to staying alive, I admit. I would recommend you both make that decision as well. It would go a long way in getting us through these next four years, and onwards," He looked between the two huntsmen, before beginning to turn away. "Ah, but it is far late, and I should make sure my… 'competent' teammates haven't gotten lost. Miss Nikos; Mr. Shinai. I bid you goodnight." He bowed again, before turning sharply on his heel, a satisfied smile planted on his face as he made his way back into the night.

"I should be going as well," Pyrrha said, looking to her old rival. "Don't stay up too late, Shinai."

"Of course." The samurai muttered.

"Goodnight. It's good to see you again."

He gave her a nod as she turned to follow after the faunus. His gaze turned back to the horizon, not moving an inch. "Likewise, Nikos. Likewise."


	5. Chapter 4: A Molding Process

Chapter 4: A Molding Process

* * *

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as prey!" Professor Port laughed out, his arms spread in front of the ramshackle board behind him, littered with anatomical displays of different grimm, alongside old, hardly functional weapons.

Daria let out a quiet groan, looking back and forth over her team, located towards the top of the bleachers, sequestered far from the Professor's view; Rainier was leaning back, feet propped up onto the desk in front of them, his Scroll in hand; Gail was sitting quietly, watching the teacher with as much intent and interest as she could muster- and Nash was passed out onto the desktop, snoring quietly.

The faunus' gaze turned boredly towards her, an eyebrow cocked up. "Oh, but I had thought our fearless leader _insisted_ \- we must attend our classes, we must!"

Her glare shifted to him. "Are you _always_ this much of a jerk?"

"No, not always."

"So it's just me, then."

"Hardly! I've been giving the archer a hard time since we met in the forest. Isn't that right, Miss Cerulean?"

"Mmhm." She muttered disinterestedly, tuned out of their conversation entirely.

"And you shall too," The Professor said. "Upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying; Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teaming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in; huntsmen, huntresses! Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world! That is what you are training to become; but first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man… me! When I was a boy-"

"No," Rainier continued lightly, paying little mind to the teacher beginning his rant below. "Simply, when I traveled here from Vacuo, I'd had many expectations of this kingdom, of this school; unfortunately, very few of those have been met."

"Uh huh, sure."

"For instance, this class," He gestured around the lecture hall. "I've- and presumably you all- have been learning about grimm our entire lives. I know very well how to kill one. This? This is not only redundant, it's gratuitous, no?"

"So what?" Daria shot back. "We've got our classes. We go to them."

"In my hometown, if there were classes you didn't want to go to," He leaned towards her. "You don't go. It's truly that simple. No one would attend a class like this in Tear's Fall; truthfully, a class like this would not exist in Tear's Fall. I'm uncertain of what they teach you here in Vale, but thus far it's proving to be rather… lackluster."

"Wow, so you really are just a dick."

Rainier shrugged, turning his attention back down to Port below, still continuing on his rambling rant. "Call me what you will, but I've found that time out there is invaluable. Time in here is… well, wasted. Perhaps that's something you Vale huntsmen will learn eventually. It may do you some good."

"I'm not from Vale." Daria hissed back to him, scowling deeply.

"Vale, Mistral- all the same, truthfully. The only difference is the amount of world wars instigated in the past."

"You're just really all that high-and-mighty, huh?"

"If you say so. I prefer a 'rational viewpoint'."

"The moral of this story?" Port called out. "A true huntsman must be honorable! A true huntsman must be dependable! A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the _embodiment_ of these traits?"

Daria's withering gaze settled onto Rainier. "Well, there you go, knock yourself out, I think he just described you to a _'T'_."

The faunus snorted, moving to retort-

"I do, sir!" Weiss barked from the stands far below DRGN, her voice dripping with anger.

Rainier's face fell slightly, a frown overtaking his expression.

"Oh lookie," His leader muttered sardonically. "You two are _perfect_ for each other."

The faunus leaned back in his seat, the smugness of his expression fading. "At the very least, you _are_ humorous."

"Well then," Port said, gesturing for Weiss to join him down on the floor. "Let's find out!" Another teacher appeared to the side of the classroom, pushing their way through a door; dragging a large crate behind them. The crate shook and rattled as the creature within bucked against its restraints, growling and snorting, only the glowing red of its eyes visible in the darkness. "Step forward and face your opponent."

Rainier's eyes slowly widened, leaning forwards in interest. Weiss drew a gleaming steep rapier, standing a few meters away from the crate, staring intently at the creature locked within.

"Gooo, Weiss!" Yang shouted from far below, the rest of RWBY becoming apparent. The students in the stands all watched with bated breath as the Atlesian stared the grimm down.

"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby called, shooting to her feet, waving ecstatically.

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped back. "I am trying to focus!"

"…Sorry."

Port rubbed his hands together, stepping towards the side of the crate, a blunderbuss-axe weapon held in his hands. "Alright! Let the match… begin!" He swung out, cleaving the lock clean away from the crate.

The door had barely begun to swing open, before the grimm inside charged out; large and boar-like, two razor sharp tusks curling from its mouth, barreling straight towards Weiss.

The huntress barely managed to bring her rapier up, deflecting the attack, giving her enough space to roll to the side, popping back up to her feet determinedly. The grimm skid to a stop, turning back to the girl. This time, it stayed still, pawing at the floorboards anxiously, red eyes never leaving her.

"Haha!" Port laughed. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby yelled excitedly.

"This," Rainier muttered. "Is _far_ more my speed."

"You're the worst." Daria muttered back.

Weiss sped forwards, a series of white glyphs glowing in her path towards the grimm. She thrust her rapier forwards, the blade digging deep into the beast's skull; yet, it whipped its head to the side nonetheless, catching the sword in its tusk, trying to wildly rip it free from the huntress' grip, swinging her around frantically.

"Bold, new approach!" The Professor laughed. "I like it!"

"Come on, Weiss!" Ruby continued. "Show it who's boss!"

The momentary distraction offered by the leader of RWBY was enough for the grimm to rip the rapier from Weiss' grasp, sending it flying far from the combatants, before the creature lashed out, slamming its tusks into the huntress, sending her tumbling away.

The grimm immediately continued its offensive, charging wildly towards Weiss, missing only as she dove to the side, falling into a roll before quickly climbing back towards her feet, rushing towards her sword.

Ruby waved wildly to get her partner's attention. "Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snapped back, face filled with indignation and anger.

The grimm, for its part, turned on its heel furiously, leaping into the air and beginning to spin, gaining more and more speed; finally, it crashed back into the ground, its spinning form roaring towards the huntress with ridiculous speed. Weiss scowled, waving her rapier in front of her.

Moments before the beast crashed into her, a brilliant blue glyph appeared in the air before her, the grimm smashing headfirst into it, like hitting a solid wall. It bounced away with a satisfying 'crunch', tumbling back and away from the huntress.

Another glyph appeared behind Weiss, and she smoothly leapt up, cartwheeling, her heels meeting the snowflake-like rune. Its blue color faded to black, and like a blur, she flew from its surface, her rapier gleaming as she lunged straight towards the beast's unprotected underside, burying the sword hilt deep into the grimm.

She let out a gasp of relief as she rose back to her feet, the beast slowly beginning to dissipate.

"Bravo!" Port called, stepping towards her, clapping. "Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training!" Weiss climbed to her feet, the tension draining from her as she stood at attention, ramrod straight.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss stormed away without a second glance, disappearing through the doors before any of the other students could even rise to their feet.

"And how about that?" Daria spat at Rainier. "Not bad for someone not from Vacuo, huh?"

The faunus snorted, grabbing the back of Nash's shirt to drag him to his feet, waking the boy up. "Yes, but she's Atlesian. She's not from this… _lovely_ kingdom. I may not love our northern neighbors, but they do war _very_ well. From what I can see, there are more children proving the rule here than there are exceptions… Miss Schnee and I, of course, discluded."

The moment DRGN exited the lecture hall, Daria rounded onto him, glaring him down. "You're a real creep, you know that?"

"A creep? _Moi_? Hardly! I simply speak what I believe. I _believe_ that I am a product of Vacuo and am talented in that regard. I _believe_ that you are a product of Mistral and are… not quite as talented in that regard. In fact, I don't believe I've ever even seen you even _raise_ those blades of yours."

"Do _you_ want to be leader?" She snapped. "Because it's yours, I don't want it anymore than you want me to have it."

"Of course not! Ozpin made his choice, and we must all live with that. Even so, leadership doesn't suit me; and beside that," He gave her a look-over. "You are a _curiosity_ , dearest. I'm _beyond_ fascinated to see what you do."

He stepped past her smoothly, sashaying away from the rest of DRGN without another word, humming to himself as he went. Daria rolled her eyes, turning to walk down the hall. "Come on, you guys. I'm so over him."

"What'd I miss?" Nash whispered tiredly, attention shooting back and forth between his teammate and his leader.

* * *

"Well placed shot, Lance!" The teacher called, applauding the swordsman.

Lance shrugged with a smirk as he twirled the rifle around. "I know, I know. You learn a lot of things out in the wide, wide world."

Oracle snorted. "Apparently, ya didn't learn a smidgeon of humility out there."

"Humility's for the shameful." He shot back.

The gunslinger rose to her feet, walking towards the beginning of the firing range, joining her teammate and the teacher, raising her revolver high, chewing noisily on the toothpick in her mouth. "Watch and learn, blondie."

Butting him out of the way with her hip, she took her place solidly, raising the gun up to stare down the lane, a beowolf grimm cutout staring right back. The shot cracked out, the bullet embedding itself cleanly in the heart of the cardboard beast.

Lance rolled his eyes as he bodily shouldered her away. "You couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat." He fired, the shot landing only millimeters away from her own.

Oracle retook her position. "Ah no, you've wounded me- you gonna use the ol' 'broadside of a barn' chirp next? Child's play, bud." Her shot went cleanly through the bullet hole he'd made.

"Oh come on, kitten, I won't tell anyone if you don't have an actual comeback, just 'tween me and you." The swordsman didn't bother pushing her out of his way this time, sidling up next to her as he took another shot.

"Anyone ever tell you how much of a asshole you look like? I'd rather be watchin' a papercut in slow mo than see you take another bass-ackwards shot." Three shots in quick succession made a triangle around their previous shots.

Lance didn't look away from the range as he began walking to the side, his teammate in step, rifle still raised casually. "I thought you were supposed to be good at shooting, why don't you sing a song or something, do a trick, you're friggin' useless." They entered the lane to their side, the target getting smaller and farther away, the swordsman's shot still ringing true.

"Hey, what's the name of your laundry foldin' channel, hon?" Oracle shot back, her other revolver coming up to lay out a flurry of bullets, each hitting their mark, the teammates never ceasing their movement.

Lance shook his head as he quickly reloaded the rifle, never losing a beat. "I bet you know exactly how many days it is until the next solstice."

" _Wait_!" Oracle shouted, getting everyone around the duo to jump in shock, all eyes turning to the members of SOUL.

The swordsman glared down at her for a moment. "…What?!"

"Go eat a dick, ya silly friggin' poodle."

"You're like a cup of baby carrots, you absolute tool." He immediately shot back, resuming his precise- and increasingly irritated- shooting, a crowd beginning to form around the duo as they reached the longer and still longer lanes, the grimm cutout at the end getting less and less distinguishable.

"Hon, I don't even know what your name is."

"You remind me of the kinda person who somehow is always bursting out laughing in every group photo you're in- like the camera just happened to catch that magic moment in ever single one. It's like- 'say cheese'," He froze, face twisted into an overdramatic smile, arms lifting in a cheery pose. The crowd sucked in a bated breath, Oracle's eyebrows furrowing in irritation. After a long moment, he sent out a trio of rapid-fire shots, hitting their mark cleanly. "You're not fooling me, cowboy."

"Every chirp ya spit is like algebra; why've you gotta put numbers 'n letters together. Why can't ya just kiss my ass."

"Okay, Carmine; Carmine, okay, I see where you're comin' from. Why don't you just baby talk, because it feels like you're chirping at a baby, not, y'know, the kinda guy who's been kicking your ass this entire time."

"Parta me just wants ta take you down, see how you and that peashooter do in a real toe-to-toe brawl."

"Oh yeah, and what exactly do you think's gonna happen?"

"Three things happen, I hit you a few dozen times, you hit the floor, and the ambulance'll hit eighty."

"That's the worst chirp I think I've ever heard! My geriatric, Alzheimer havin' uncle could do better than that." Lance spat, both his and Oracle's faces drawn into matching scowls. He raised his rifle to fire, the grimm at the end of the lane little more than a black smudge in the distance. His finger tightened around the trigger-

Fwip.

An arrow whizzed passed the swordsman's head, soaring down the length of the lane at an incredible speed, before cleanly meeting its mark, burying halfway down its haft into the cardboard cutout.

All eyes snapped around to the back of the crowd- and Gail standing, her bow raised, another arrow nocked. Her eyes opened wide, warm brown irises filling with sudden abject terror at the amount of attention suddenly aimed her way. She let out a horrified squeak, the arrow sliding from her grasp.

Again, it flew past Lance's head, following its predecessor's path to the other end of the firing range-

And with out even a hair's difference in target, the second split cleanly through the original's, ripping it in twain before similarly sinking into the otherwise untouched grimm.

The eyes of the students slowly trailed from the duo of arrows, back to the archer who fired them; Gail, though, had turned tail, her backpack in hand as she beat an anxious, hasty retreat, the door to the firing range swinging shut behind her.

Lance and Oracle watched the girl go for a moment, their mirror gazes of surprise locking- they'd barely made eye contact before that surprise melted back into indignation.

* * *

"You know? I'm gonna be honest with you, cowgirl-"

"That suggests everythin' you've said up till this point's been a lie."

"Yeah, because semantics make for amazing chirps, get some new material."

"Ooh, big, big word, 'semantics'; which thesaurus didja get that from while ya cried yerself to sleep readin'."

"Y'know, it's a hard life reading thesauruses, but it sure as hell beats fighting some preppy Vale girl that thinks she's some sorta Vacuoan wastelander."

"Ouch, that one hurt; bout as much as that Mantlean wax it looks like ya get every other week."

"Oh, really, a chirp about my appearance, who woulda thought you would have to resort to that- oh, hey, I know, last night I saw a shooting star. I think I'm gonna wish that you weren't so damn awkward."

"I've met priests that can come up with better insults than that, ya dumpy bastard."

"I prefer to keep my best stuff for a worthy challenge, not like, oh I dunno, that bottom-tier crap you've been spitting all day."

"I wouldn't say crap if my mouth was full of it, and at least that makes one of us."

"You dumb, horse riding, backwards thinking, don't give a damn about anything hick!"

They both stopped in their tracks at the new voice shouting at them, looks of irritation fading into confusion.

"I'm pretty sure she's talking to you." Lance muttered.

Oracle turned on her heel- and her eyes went wide. A bolt of yellow flew down the hallway, the flash of burning red eyes visible for the brief instant it took the figure to reach the teammates.

Yang stood before Lance, her hands wrapped up in the collar of Oracle's dress shirt, hefting the cowgirl off of her feet entirely. The blonde's hair was alit like flames, her normally lilac eyes now brilliantly red, face twisted into fury.

The swordsman took a subtle step away, his eyebrows narrowing. "Can I help you?"

"You haven't even said hi, or anything?!" Yang snapped. "Nothing?!"

"Well…" Oracle managed, smiling nervously at the brutish huntress, reaching up to keep her hat perched on her head. "…I thought you were too busy babysittin' little Rubes to come play with the big girls."

"I'd would have thought the same, you country hick, only I know that you don't have anybody that likes you enough to let you babysit their kids."

"Bimbo."

They continued to stare each other down… before both of their faces split with brilliant smiles, Yang's hair and eyes returning to normal. She brought the gunslinger back down, pulling her into a deep hug, one that was reciprocated gleefully.

"Long time no see, O." Yang said lowly, enjoying the embrace for a moment, before she pulled back, beaming at her old friend.

"Right back atcha, party girl."

Lance's eyebrow cocked up; arms crossed as he leaned against a locker to his side. "Well, isn't this sweet."

"Who's this dweeb?" Yang asked, finally giving the swordsman a glance.

"Just the weakest link on my team." Oracle shot back, both girls turning to him.

Lance snorted. "Weakest link? Last time I checked; all you did to that Beringel was put a couple of holes in it with those pea shooters."

"Is this guy for real?" The larger of the two huntresses asked, face incredulous.

Oracle tipped her hat back, nodding. "He's been like this since day one."

"Well, you know what they say- it's a great day for hay, ain't it, ladies?" The swordsman shot back.

The old friends exchanged glances, before Yang shrugged. "It is a great day for hay, what's it to ya?"

"Just thought I might remind you guys of something you love, considering you're _both_ apparently wannabe cowboys."

Oracle rolled her eyes. "Buddy, the only thing girls love is when you stop talkin'."

"My track record says otherwise."

Yang snorted, looking him up and down. "Dude, you're softer than a chewed-up tootsie roll."

"You look like the skunk my dog killed and probably did unspeakable things too." Oracle added, neither girl missing a beat.

"Wannabes? You're the one dressing like a wannabe Vacuoan with that chest baring jacket, you pheasant."

"Take your pretty boy haircut, your overcompensatin' sword, and kick rocks."

"Cake eater."

"It might not be a great day for hay, but it's a great day for chirpin'."

"What's it to ya-"

Lance blinked owlishly, looking back and forth between them. He cleared his throat, hesitantly combing his hair back. "…Girls, girls-"

"'Girls, girls,'" Oracle shot back, leaning towards him. "What, do ya share a brain both up top and down below?"

"Get real." Yang added.

"I bet you've got twenty different names for your sword, and you can take that one whatever direction you want, bud."

"You smell like cheese puffs, and you look far out."

"I bet you write Achieve Men song lyrics in all your pick-up texts."

"You prefer kittens and you kiss babies."

"You're a friggin' amateur, bud."

Arms crossed, both huntresses leaned against each other, staring expectantly at the swordsman before them, Oracle idly chewing on the remains of her toothpick.

Lance let out a breath, leaning away from them. He raised his hands placatingly. "…Ladies… That was… some of the finest chirping I've ever received. Ever," He nodded, beginning to step backwards, looking Oracle up and down. "…I'm not too proud to admit I've been beat. Well played, Carmine. Nice meeting you, blondie." He turned and began to walk away, shaking his head in slight awe and appraisal, mumbling to himself as he went.

The huntresses watched him go for a moment, before the gunslinger's face split back into a smile, turning on her heel to pull Yang into another hug.  
"I'm glad that didn't turn into a fight," The blonde said, voice light again. "It would've been awkward having to ask to change first."

Oracle pulled back, smiling at her old friend. "I's great to see ya, blondie."

"You too. You didn't call, text, anything?"

"I…" The redhead averted her gaze, sighing. "I got caught up. I meant ta, ya know that. I just… lotsa stuff happenin'."

Yang punched her in the shoulder as they began to walk away. "Yeah, I know how you work. It's no problem. You'll just have to make it up to me."

Oracle let out a quiet chuckle. "…So... your sister. Heard Rubes is leading the team?"

"...Aha… yeah. It's… she's definitely… yep! I think Ozpin's crazy, but, y'know… I believe in her. She's got it. I just hope she doesn't drive Weiss insane before she gets it."

"Yeah… that sounds pretty familiar. How'd she even get in? Isn't she somethin' like two years younger than us?"

"Ha, yeah, she is. She was... I dunno, at a Dust shop to pick up some ammo, and she managed to break up a robbery while she was there. Something about a dude in a bowler hat and a glowy-eyed lady, I don't know. She had an interview with Ozpin and Goodwitch and they let her apply early."

"That damn girl, that sounds exactly like her."

The blonde burst back into giddiness, looping her arm into Oracle's. "Come on- let's go hit the town, catch up! It's been way too long!"

The gunslinger smiled, face brightening- before immediately dowering. "…I can't."

"Wha? Why not! You always skip class with me!"

"Yeah… but… Shinai- our team's leader, he's pretty… pretty dang strict, actually. Cute as hell, but lords, does he have a stick up his butt. We're in the same class comin' up, and if 'm not there, he's gonna rip me a new one," Yang's smile fell, mood dampening significantly. She nodded, disappointed lilac gaze turning to the side. Oracle squeezed her shoulder, shaking her from side to side. "Oh, don't be like that, hon. After class today- we'll go muck 'bout town. Just you, me, maybe Rubes. Like old times."

That brought the grin back to the blonde's face. "Alright, but I'm going to hold you to that. Don't think I won't."

"Yeah, yeah… i's good to see ya again, darlin'."

"You too, girl. You too."

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch stood upon the stage formally, hands folded behind her back. She looked out to the stands of students, nodding. "-But nevertheless, matches are dangerous. Your aura, the protective shield your soul manifests, will only protect you for so long. When it runs out, you will be as defenseless as any civilian that walks the streets,"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, before she cleared her throat pointedly. "However, this is a sparring class, and its purpose is to prepare you for the inevitable moments when you will fight other huntsmen, huntresses, or other powerful and skilled individuals, be they in qualified, official matches, or out in the field. Starting today, we will be posing sparring matches, pitting you against your fellow students; these will vary from hand-to-hand training, to full speed matches contested under tournament rules. With this in mind; are there any volunteers for our first sparring match?"

The crowd was silent, no one hardly moving or reacting, a thick air of anxiety settling over them.

"No one?" Goodwitch continued, eyebrow raised, unimpressed. Her gaze scanned over the students carefully, assessing each huntsman-to-be carefully; her attention froze. "Ah, Mr. Kyani; your name, and your record in these matches, precedes you. Would you join me on the stage?"

Shinai hardly reacted to the request, though he stiffened slightly as the students around him turned their attentions almost reverently to the samurai. He rose to his feet and nodded quietly, beginning his descent to the stage below.

As he made his way down, the professor continued to scan the crowd. "Are there any who would be willing to spar with Mr. Kyani for the purposes of our demonstration in regard to tournament rules and expectations?"

No one made a sound.

"No one? No one would like to try their hand at besting Mr. Kyani?"

Still, no reaction.

"Very well, the-"

"I'll do it."

All eyes turned towards the upper layers of the stands; settling onto Team DRGN.

Rainier was lounging in his spot, feet kicked up on the seat in front of him. One hand was raised in the air lazily, his face nonchalant and unimpressed.

Glynda adjusted her glasses, staring up at him. "Mr… Rainier Platina, correct? Very well. Please join us down on the stage," The faunus looked over to his teammates, beginning to stir from his position without an ounce of urgency. "Do remember, Mr. Platina, that this spar will be contested under official tournament rules, and not the street rules you will be used to."

"Of course, of course." Rainier said, waving his hand.

Daria leaned towards him as he began to descend, frowning. "What are ' _street rules_ ' exactly?"

The faunus grinned back to her. "Try not to kill each other."

* * *

Shinai and Rainier stared down at another, purple locked onto pale gold.

Shinai's hands rested softly on the hilt of his handle as Rainier leaned backwards, casual and nonplussed.

The faunus bowed lowly with a flourish. "Good luck." He said, rising back to his feet.

The samurai gave him a slight, stiff bow in return, offering a nod, but was otherwise silent.

"Ready!" Goodwitch called out.

Both fighters stiffened; Shinai's feet sliding apart from each other, hand tightening around his katana's hilt; Rainier began to hop from foot to foot, eyes hardening as a vicious smirk began to spread across his face. His eyes shifted to the large screens above the stage, both huntsmen's portraits portrayed over mirror bars of green.

Yellow met purple again.

" _Go_."


	6. Chapter 5: The Samurai and the Wolf

Chapter 5: The Samurai and the Wolf

* * *

Rainier didn't waste a moment dashing towards Shinai, vicious grin painted across his face, tearing across the stage. The samurai leapt high above the charging faunus, boot crashing against the back of his head to send him tumbling away, feet touching down gracefully, turning on his heel with his katana drawn at the ready.

Rainier skid to a stop, Wolf's Claws throwing sparks into the air as he quickly spun on his heel, not a beat wasted as he lunged back forwards, a cannon shot carrying him forwards into the air, a wild kick sent arcing towards the samurai's head.

The steel of Shinai's katana came up in a flash, parrying the attack away, Rainier left flipping in the air. His feet had barely touched the ground before he continued on the offensive, another roundhouse kick racing towards Shinai's head, missing as the samurai backstepped in the nick of time, the silver of the faunus' claws millimeters from his face. His blade shot out, gliding against his opponent's metallic leg, drifting down to the floor, before Rainier lashed out again.

The two huntsmen continued to march across the stage, the faunus loosing a near never-ending stream of rapid-fire kicks, the samurai always just a beat ahead of his opponent, narrowly dodging each strike, his blade rising to deflect the attacks away from himself. Finally, Rainier leapt and corkscrewed in the air, his claws arcing down towards the crown of Shinai's head, missing only as the samurai's katana met the arc of the metallic paw, pushing with all of his might to send the faunus to the ground.

Shinai's boot lashed out, tripping the rising faunus from his perch, the silver-clad huntsman twirling into the air, the samurai taking a hard step forwards, throwing his shoulder into Rainier's form, sending the Vacuoan flying away.  
Rainier had barely hit the ground before he'd recovered, spinning to a single knee, yellow gaze losing its enthusiasm, slowly filling with irritation. He reached up and cocked his head side-to-side. "You're pulling your shots, samurai. Make this interesting, yes?"

He shot back to his feet like a bullet, making another mad dash towards his opponent, hands curled into claws, face twisted into a snarl.

Poof.

Rainier skid to a stop as the stage filled with smoke, twirling on his heel, teeth grit together in concentration. The hairs on his neck rose up in warning, his eyes shooting to the ceiling, widening.

Shinai fell with a downwards swing of his katana, nearly catching the faunus across the chest, Rainier backstepping out of the way, looking to retaliate- the samurai, though, never touched the floor, the point of his blade resting against the floorboards below, its wielder balancing perfectly above the katana. Before his opponent had a chance to recover, he struck out with both boots, crashing them into the faunus' nose, sending him flying from the quickly disappearing smoke. His momentum carried him back to the floor, and in one swift motion, he sheathed the blade, legs crouched lowly.

With another puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Rainier rolled back to a standing base, scowling at the thick cloud of purple ahead of him, standing at the ready, muscles tensing with preparation. He'd barely taken a breath before the tell-tale sound of Shinai's teleportation sounded behind him, eyes widening as he was quickly enveloped in purple.  
The steel of the samurai's blade glinted in the light as he ripped it free from its scabbard. He dashed forwards like a dart, exiting the smoke, his katana extended ahead of him, sliding to a stop before turning on his heel, weapon held at the ready, eyes narrowed.

Silence settled over the stage, the onlookers waiting with bated breath. Shinai's eyes quickly shot to the bars suspended on the screen high above him, chancing a glance at his green and Rainier's now yellow bar.

He'd barely looked away from the smoke before something roared free of the cloud, arcing high above the stage. His attention followed the plume of smoke, searching for the faunus.

Rainier snarled down at Shinai, all pretenses of glee gone from his expression- both of his feet perched onto ceiling, silver claws ripping through the plaster, legs coiling. With surprising speed and force, he pushed off, hurtling back down towards his opponent, nearly catching the samurai off guard, only the quick arc of his katana saving him from being crushed into the ground, Rainier's Wolf's Claws tearing through the floorboards below, kindling and splinters flying into the air.

With a growl, the faunus lashed out again, his heel sent towards Shinai's chin, again the samurai's blade rising to send Rainier's claws back towards the floor; this time, though, Rainier pivoted, the silver of his leg pressing the katana into the ground, his hands reaching out to hold Shinai's tightly against the sword's hilt, his non-mechanical foot lashing out to impact hard against his opponent's cheek, sending him tumbling away, the grip on his katana lost.

Rainier rose back to his feet, skillfully twirling the stolen blade around, looking its gleaming steel up and down. He cocked his head with an irritated, but satisfied laugh. "No more of that."

The sword at his side, he dashed forwards, striking out with the well-made blade. Shinai's gauntleted hand raised upwards, glowing with purple, before bringing it back down.

The characters along the katana's blade glowed a similar color, following its master's motion, the tip of the blade falling to crash into floor below, making Rainier's eyes widen in confusion.

Shinai raised his hand again, the sword lifting into the air, even taking the faunus off of the ground before he jerked himself back down, confused gaze meeting the samurai's furious one, his hand shooting back down to the ground, the blade adjusting so it flew under Rainier's legs, sending him head over heels to crash into the ground, the wind rushing from him, his grip on the sword lost.

The katana gleamed in the light as it spun in the air of its own accord, before falling back to the ground, impaling itself into the floorboards as Rainier rolled away, scrambling to his feet.

Shinai jerked his hand back to himself, his blade returning to his grip comfortably. He turned burning eyes to his opponent, though his face was as stony as always. " _Never_. Touch my blade." He muttered lowly, twirling his katana to stand at the ready.

Rainier recovered himself, scowling. He spat to the side, gaze falling onto the entranced crowd to the duo's side. He took a breath in as if he was preparing to speak- before jolting forwards, speeding towards his opponent. Shinai was ready, however, twirling out of the rampaging faunus' way, leaping as he spun, boot crashing into Rainier's back, sending him hurtling away.

A cannon shot, though, stalled his momentum in the air, blasting back towards the samurai, missing again as Shinai leapt; Rainier's hands struck out, latching onto his opponent's ankles, sending him crashing back into the ground, twirling to his feet gracefully, despite the look of frustration pained across his face.

Losing no momentum, he arced over Shinai, still gripping his legs, the samurai's body bending unnaturally, before the faunus released, chucking his opponent away from him towards the wall of the stage.

Shinai masterfully turned, boots meeting the stage wall moments before impact, his katana held close to his side, gleaming tip pointed straight towards the infuriated faunus. He pushed off, shooting towards Rainier with a rare scowl of his own; the attack missed as the faunus dodged with a leap of his own, the katana's blade burying deep into the floorboards.

The faunus immediately lashed out with a strike of his own, a cannon-aided heel kick striking down towards the back of the still-recovering samurai's head. Shinai was a touch quicker, though, twirling from his low position, his leg whipping out to impact into the back of Rainier's knees, buckling his non-mechanical one, sending him tumbling head-over-heels himself, twirling wildly in the air, eyes wide.

Shinai immediately struck out with a shoulder-tackle, further exacerbating the faunus' frantic fall, before lashing out with another well-placed side kick.  
Rainier flew away from the samurai, crashing into the ground, scrambling to climb back to his feet as he continued to bounce and slide away, rising back to a vertical base- right at the edge of the stage, the tips of his toes teetering over, eyes wide as he waved his arms, trying desperately to stay above the stands of the students below.

A hand latched onto his hoodie before he had the chance to recover, Shinai ripping him back towards the stage, throwing the faunus back away from the precipice; not quite as mercifully, though, he lashed out with another kick, taking Rainier off of his feet entirely, twirling in the air, before following with two swift slashes of his blade, effortlessly corkscrewing the faunus around, before a straight kick to the side of his head sent Rainier flying away from the samurai again, crashing hard against the floorboards, rolling across the ground wildly.

His teeth grit together, looking to push himself to his feet- until the gleaming point of Shinai's katana rested under the Vacuoan's chin calmly. The samurai stared down at his opponent stonily, eyes begging the silent question.

"Time." Glynda called out, the lights in the classroom rising again to illuminate the stands.

Shinai smoothly returned his katana to its sheathe, offering Rainier a hand without missing a beat. The faunus began to reach out to take it- and then pulled his own extended limb back to himself, rising to his feet on his own.

The samurai took a step back, bowing lowly to his opponent. "Well fought, Platina."

Rainier stared back at him for a moment, teeth grit together, swallowing hard. He bowed lowly with another flourish, the tension still not draining from his body. "…You as well, samurai."

"Students," Goodwitch began again. "As you can see, Mr. Platina's aura has dropped into the red, meaning in an official tournament match, he would no longer be considered fit for battle, and would be eliminated," She turned back to the two students perched on the stage. "Well fought, the both of you. I trust that you will both be applying for the tournament come this summer?"

"…Perhaps." Shinai muttered unsurely, gaze finding its way to his team in the stands.

Rainier looked at him for a moment, before turning a strained smile back to the teacher. "…Aha… we shall see."

"Either way," She acknowledged with a nod. "Keep up the good work," Her gaze turned back to the students beyond. "Remember, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. In only a short time, students from every kingdom will be arriving at Beacon to compete at the tournament. Those who apply, and are accepted, for the tournament will be representing not only our school, but the entire Kingdom of Vale. That will be all. Do not forget to always train, regardless of the circumstances. Rust will get you killed in the field."

She stepped away from the stage, the students in the stands beginning to rise and exit, eyes locked onto the two combatants in various stages of awe, a chorus of excited and anxious murmuring following the crowd out of the large hall.

Shinai turned to speak to Rainier again, only for the faunus to briskly brush passed him wordlessly, marching towards the exit, gaze never leaving the doors, not even to look to his team waiting for him, disappearing around the corner, the rest of DRGN following in confusion, looking to each other as they followed their teammate out. The samurai, a slight expression of confusion playing on his own expression, began to follow suit, stepping off the stage to meet Oracle and Lance, Ulysses having long disappeared.

The blonde swordsman stepped in front of him, drawing a cocked eyebrow out of Shinai. Lance nodded, looking him up and down, respect written on his face. "…Nice fighting out there, Kyani, I'll give you that. Consider me… y'know, I don't think 'impressed' covers it. I'd be willing to have a go at you- or with you- anytime."

Shinai stared at him, a hint of hesitation filling his face, before he gave a small nod of acknowledgment, slightly narrowed eyes still unsure of his fellow huntsman.

Oracle, on the other hand, was staring off after Rainier, hip cocked to the side. "…He's not a very gracious loser, though, is he?"

"You noticed that too?" Lance asked, following her gaze. "Looked like he was about to hit something. Or cry. Maybe both. It was a pretty prime Ulysses expression."

The leader of SOUL looked from his teammates to the screen suspended high above, staring at his and Rainier's portraits; the faunus' red bar, and his own comfortably bright yellow bar. "…Perhaps. He…" He shook his head. "If he'd fought with precision rather than anger, that fight might have gone a different way. He knows that."

"If you say so," The blonde said with a snort. "You had him on the back foot from the beginning."

Shinai didn't look convinced, though he said nothing else, beginning his march towards the exits. "…I expect you two to fight with more dignity than that."

The other members of SOUL began to follow suit, the greatswordsman shrugging with a smug smile. "If it lets me beat the hell out of the wolf, I'll fight like an absolute gods damned gentleman."

Oracle rolled her eyes, giving him a disbelieving stare as the trio stepped out into the warm spring air beyond.

* * *

Daria snuggled into her bed, letting out a content sigh as, for the first time that day, the tension drained from her body, settling in for the night. Nash was perched on the bed opposite of hers, laying on his stomach, feet kicking behind him idly as he played on his Scroll. The leader of DRGN watched him for a moment, gaze idling over to Gail and Rainier's empty cots, a small sigh escaping her lips.

"Did you see the look on Rainier's face today?" She finally asked, breaking the silence.

Nash nodded idly, gaze not raising from his screen. "…Yuh-huh."

"I think that's the first time I've seen him be that… defeated… _ever_. Have you seen him since? He kinda just disappeared."

"Mmyep."

"I…" She shook her head, turning away from the boy. "Nevermind."

"Totes."

Her Scroll let out a jingle from her bedside table, glowing brightly. With a small groan, she picked it up, looking over the contents of the notification.

A picture popped up across its surface; a man and a woman, dressed warmly amidst a backdrop of a snowy city street. They shared dark skin and dark hair, the man's eyes light while the woman's were warm brown like Daria's; both were smiling and waving to the camera. A moment later, another message appeared under the picture-

_'We miss you, love from Argus, Mom and Dad.'_

A content smile slowly claimed Daria's face, a familiar feeling of warmth sinking through her, the huntress sending back simply a heart emoji in return, letting the Scroll go dark as she idly dropped it beside her.

Her smile slowly melted away, sadness replacing it. She reached behind her towards her night stand, pulling a decently hidden picture back towards herself; across its folded and well-traveled face was a much younger Daria, grinning a wide, gap-toothed smile, taking a selfie- behind her, looking to the camera with a slightly bemused expression, was an older boy, that looked distinctly similar to herself, his eyes a touch more golden. Her grip tightened on the picture, reflexively biting her lip to stay away the familiar feeling of oncoming tears.

"Who's tha'?" Nash asked, making her jump in shock.

" _What_?" She cried in surprise, turning to him quickly with wide eyes.

He cocked his head to the side to get a better view of the picture, blinking owlishly. "Who's that'?"

Her gaze slowly drifted back to the photo, before quickly folding it up, returning it to her nightstand. "It's…" She trailed off with a small sigh. "It's nobody. Don't worry about it."

"You looked reall' happy."

"I… don't worry about it, Nash," Her tone had sharpened warningly. "…I'm turning in." She reached out and turned her lamp off, bathing the room in darkness, wordlessly turning over to settle in, her back to her partner.

He watched her for a few moments, confused, a touch of guilt settling into his expression. "…Goodnight'." He whispered, pulling his own blankets up, snuggling into his sheets… for a few moments, before throwing his comforter over his head, his Scroll glowing brightly under the covers as he continued to play with the device, the faintest sounds of combat echoing out into the otherwise quiet room.

Daria looked over at the illuminated lump that was Nash. She shook her head, laying back down to let the peace of sleep take her.

* * *

Rainier peered around the corner into the dorm room, looking over his teammate's forms for a moment. He let out a small groan- before stepping passed the door, steadfastly marching towards the end of the hall, and the window that looked out over the campus. With a quick motion, he threw it open, climbing out to perch on the sill. With ironically cat-like ease, he leapt and twisted, latching into the side of the dormitory, scaling it nonchalantly, reaching the black-tiled roof in moments. His hands buried into his pockets as he rose to his full height, marching across towards the other side, moving to perch where the moon was in the clearest view, bright above the school, its shattered side hardly visible that night.

A small gasp greeted him as he reached the opposite side, the faunus turning on his heel, tensing for combat-

Sitting against one of the rises in the roof was Gail, staring up at him with wide, shocked eyes. His form relaxed, looking over her. "…Miss Cerulean." He managed huskily, standing in his place awkwardly.

"Ah! Rainier… I… didn't know-"

"The same for you. Do you mind?" He gestured beside her; an eyebrow raised.

She stiffened, but hesitantly nodded nonetheless. He sat down with a weary sigh, wincing at the motion.

"A-are you… hurt?" She asked, face twisting in concern.

He let out a small laugh. "No, no; only my pride is. I'm simply… sore."

"From your-"

"From my battle with the samurai, yes."

"Ah," The duo sat silently for a moment, Gail's face pensive. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, trying desperately to get the words out, the action lost on Rainier as he turned his gaze to the stars above. "…Y-you… you looked… you didn't think you- you'd lose, did… did you?"

He didn't answer for a few moments. "…No. I did not," She simply stared at him quietly as he took a deep breath in. "…I'd thought that I would- that I could beat him… how wrong I was. I was too slow. Far, far too slow. He... he embarrassed me. He made me look like a fool... he was that much better than I was."

"Well… maybe… maybe that's good?" He looked back down to her with an unimpressed, cocked eyebrow. She shook her head quickly. "N-not like that! I… I mean… my- my _kuia_ always said, that… it was better to- to have to fight for… something… if... you're just given something, it doesn't... feel satisfying. But, if you have to work for it, it- it feels much better."

Rainier stared at her for a moment, before turning back to look out over Beacon. "…Hm. _Kuia_. That's an interesting word."

"It… it's the language of my people."

"You're not from Vale then, I take it."

"Ah- no. I… I'm from a… small island, between Sanus a-and Animus. Mo'alau."

" _Mo'alau_ …" He hummed thoughtfully. "Why did you leave, then?"

"I…" She looked down to the shingles beneath her feet. "…I wanted… to be a huntress."

"So you came all the way out here? Just for that?"

"My… family wanted me to be a… hunter- for- for food, not grimm. That… was what my mother did, and her father, and his parents, and their parents… it seems like everyone in my family… all they did was hunt. But…"

"But?"

"My _kuia_ was a huntress. She trained here. She… she was the first person to leave my island… maybe since the Great War…"

"...And you want to follow her foosteps, then?"

"I… yes. I… I think I do."

He let out a small laugh, turning back towards her at her slightly hurt and confused expression. "No, no, it's not funny. I think that's… not quaint. Quaint's too… _condescending_. Nice. I think it's nice."

"Well… um… thank you."

Rainier nodded absently, looking over at her out of the corner of his eyes. "You know… I never met my _abuela_. She died before I was born."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She was the oldest White Wolf in my family's history. Granted, she took up the mantle after the Great War, which may have skewed the averages slightly, but nevertheless- White Wolves don't grow elderly. Yet she did."

"Your… family's an old one, then?"

"Ha! I can trace it centuries back, all the way back to the founder of our line as we know it- _Berengaria du Platina_ , the first great king of Vacuo. We all try to live up to his legacy. Some of us do…" His smile became embittered, gaze turning to the roof below. "… _Some of us don't_."

"Your… family… they expect… a lot from you?"

He let out a suitably bitter laugh. "' _A lot_ ' is a _very_ quaint term. They expect… glory. They expect me to push the family name to live on. At least, my father does," He turned to look at her, taking her appearance in for a quiet moment. "…I suppose we have one thing in common, at the very least."

She nodded in agreement, a small smile finding its way to her face.

"Don't tell the others, though," He muttered under his breath. "They may get jealous."

That drew an honest, tiny laugh from the girl, and his smile brightened again.

The partners went quiet, their gazes turning to watch the stars in silent solidarity.


	7. Chapter 6: Vacuoan Pride

Chapter 6: Vacuoan Pride

* * *

Rainier lashed out with a vicious kick, cracking it against the boy's jaw, sending him hurtling away, tumbling against the floorboards. He tried desperately to scramble to his feet, only for a whir of silver to appear next to him, Wolf's Claws brutally kicking his arm out from under him, face planting back into the ground.

The faunus smirked, cartwheeling smoothly over his opponent before striking out with another kick to the boy's abdomen, lifting him into the air and, with one wicked side kick, buried his claws into the side of the student's head, a cannon shot sending him hurtling away wildly, crashing down into the floor below with a hard thud, skidding even meters further. Rainier's gaze turned upwards to the screen above, taking in his opponent's dark orange bar, as well as his untouched green. He let out a surprised, and amused, huff, idly leaping up, feet making contact with the wall behind him, and, with another shot, took off like a bullet of his own towards the still recovering boy.

"Mr. Platina, that is _enough_!" Goodwitch called out sternly.

Rainier flipped in the air, his feet returning to the floorboards below, screeching to a halt, tearing deep gouges into the wood as he went- and barely came to a stop before the boy, the other huntsman reflexively flinching away.

The room went quiet as the Vacuoan stared down at his still cowering opponent, vicious, tilted grin still painted across his face.

Slowly, his smile warmed, and he extended a hand to the boy. The huntsman hesitantly looked up to the outstretched limb, taking it against what seemed to be his better judgment. Rainier hefted him back to his feet, idly brushing the dust off of his shoulders, looking him over. "Well fought, my friend!" The faunus complimented, bowing lowly.

"Uh… yeah…" The boy muttered, slowly marching towards the stairs leading off to the stands beyond, wincing in pain as he went.

Rainier gave a quick, flourishing bow to the students watching, beginning his own, light-hearted trot back towards his own team, smiling as he went.

"Mr. Platina, I would ask you to show restraint next time, particularly against an unarmed opponent. Mr. Thesia, it's been several classes now; if you continue to insist on allowing yourself to be unarmed, then you must be willing to improve your hand-to-hand capabilities."

Rainier wasn't listening, though, continuing to climb the stairs towards his teammates waiting in the wings.

His eyes met Shinai's, the two huntsmen staring off for what felt like eternity, rapidly darkening yellow meeting detached purple. Then the faunus was gone, continuing his ascent to sit silently with the rest of DRGN, an air of satisfaction following him.

Oracle leaned over the back of her chair, frowning as she watched him take his seat. She turned back towards her leader; an eyebrow cocked unsurely. "…Hey, Captain Broody- what the hell was that about?"

Shinai's gaze turned back forwards, not giving the faunus a second glance. "It's not our problem."

"I… huh," She looked back and forth between the two huntsmen, before shrugging with a shake of her head, turning to look back down at Glynda on the stage below. "I can't help but feel like it is, but… go off, I guess."

* * *

Lance craned his neck from side to side, stretching languidly, greeted by a series of satisfying pops. He rolled his shoulders out as he stared across at his opponent, the duo beginning to circle one another. "I don't think we've met."

The girl gave him a smirk, form utterly relaxed as they continued to prowl around each other, dressed in chic black and gold, outfit consummately fashionable, her hair a warm brown, streaked with gold, a black beret perched on her head. "I think I'd remember if we did, sugar."

"Lance Zaffre." He offered with a cocked eyebrow, returning her grin.

"Coco Adel. _You_ can call me Miss Coco, though."

The swordsman let out an impressed puff of air, expression nearly jubilant. "I almost just want to surrender."

"And lose the chance to roll around?"

"On second thought, I think I'll stick around."

"If you two are quite done," Goodwitch called out over the stage, voice filled with irritation. "I said begin."

Coco shrugged. "You heard the lady."

She dashed forwards, throwing out a flurry of punches and kicks, Lance's eyes widening at the sudden onslaught, quickly put on the backfoot as he tried desperately to bring his hands up and block what strikes he could, dodging others, and simply letting others land, heavily put on the defensive as she continued to push him back

Finally, the huntress lashed out with a high kick, the attack smoothly caught in the crook of Lance's elbow, the swordsman sending her head over heel, giving himself the slightest moment or reprieve, watching as she extended the flip to land onto one knee, warm gaze turning back towards him challengingly. He wasted no time lunging forwards, striking out with a quick, brutal right, missing as she shot back to her feet, leaning just out of the way, his fist whirring just in front of her nose.

The huntsman went on the offensive, quickly closing the distance, hands held in front of him in a boxer's stance, hands firing out in rapid fire, swiveling from side to side, a flurry of punches peppering across her midsection and face, Coco's arms and legs working over time to defend as many of the blows as she could, a backfist of her own striking out, this time Lance leaning free of the blow, before retaliating with a blow of his own, her arm just barely absorbing the impact.

The combatants went back and forth, exchanging blow for blow- a punch or kick from Coco blocked or outright dodged as Lance bobbed and swayed; a machine-gun fire of well-placed boxing-style strikes from Lance comparably dodged by the significantly swifter huntress, neither student giving the other an inch of ground.

Finally, he threw a high punch, missing as she shifted to the side, then leapt with the direction of his strike, legs reaching up to wrap around his shoulders, using his own momentum to flip both of them head over heels, rolling across the ground, his back finally slamming into the floorboards.

He'd barely settled before his hands unclenched. " _I yield_."

Coco stared down at him from her perch on his chest, legs wrapped around the upper half of his torso, his arm still outstretched, held masterfully in her own limb, his elbow hyper-extending. She give him a smirk. "What was that?"

A grin of his own spread across his face as he gave a small wave placatingly. "I said I yield. I'm totally outmatched here. No point in it, huh?"

She let off a small, amused scoff, leaning down into his face. "…Next time- you better finish, Zaffre," She muttered quietly. "…Most girls don't like it when their dance partners give up too quickly." She squeezed her legs tighter for a split moment, before rolling off of him, popping back to her feet smoothly. Coco gave him one last look over her shoulder, offering a short wink and a click before disappearing down the steps.

He watched her go, turned halfway, a bemused grin playing on his face before climbing to his feet, marching back towards his teammates.

"Mr. Zaffre, Miss Adel, next time I would ask you to leave flirting _off_ of my stage," Goodwitch called after them sternly. "I will _not_ give you second warnings. That will be all for today, class."

Oracle rolled her eyes as she and Shinai reached the swordsman. "You are just a shameless dog, aren't you, Zaffre?"

"Maybe," He said with a nod. "But I've gotten luckier than you so far this year, eh?" He elbowed her in the rib, giving her a wink and click of his own.

The gunslinger pushed him away with a scowl. "One of these days-"

"-That's what you keep saying, hasn't happened yet, has it?"

"I hate you, Zaffre."

" _I don't even know your name_."

Shinai tuned out of the conversation as the duo began to derail into ceaseless bickering, leaning towards each other angrily as they continued to make their way from the classroom. He lagged behind, though, slightly turning over his shoulder towards the stands and the students still climbing down, chattering amongst themselves.

His gaze met Rainier's, the samurai's face scrunching up, eyes narrowing in suspicion. The faunus gave him a sour, empty smirk, a small head nod and a huff the only acknowledgment for Shinai. The lupine like eyes quickly turned away towards the irritated face of Daria, the Vacuoan quickly sliding back into smug nonchalance with ease, his form relaxing from its previously tense stance, hands folding behind his head.

Shinai stared for a moment longer before turning to follow after his team, troubled expression fading back into its trademark stoniness, chin held high.

* * *

Gail slunk into the blissfully quiet library with a small smile, the tension draining from her as she looked about the sprawling, warmly lit room.

The librarian leaned forwards as she passed the main desk, giving her a smile as he closed his own book. "Welcome back, Miss Cerulean."

She simply smiled brightly at him as she continue to stroll onwards, heading straight towards the massive section labelled 'fiction', losing herself among the aisles, well-trained eye scanning up and down for the specific author she had come there for. It only took her a moment to find her quarry, carefully resting it free from the quite-full shelf, humming a quiet song to herself as she looked its cover over, a satisfied smile claiming her face. She turned lightly on her heel as she marched back into the wider open areas of the library, turning not towards the front desk, but towards the rows of unoccupied tables, almost a skip in her step as she claimed the closest one, sitting down and opening her book with one lightning fast, smooth motion.

And in moments, she was engrossed, lost in the words and the near unmatched quiet the library offered.

Her smile turned content, one arm propping her head up on the desk, beginning to blaze through the book with not inconsiderable speed, a quiet, happy sigh escaping her lips.

"You're from DRGN." A deep voice rumbled to her, making her jump in shock, her reverie shattered.

Blinking owlishly, she slowly peered around the computer monitor in front of her- and locked eyes with Ulysses, jolting. "Oh!" She whispered loudly, even that level of noise drawing her to peer around cautiously. "Uh… Ul- Mr. Ebony."

"Don't call me that." He grunted lowly, eyes turning back down to the notebook and unfinished drawing before him, pencil in hand, both ears plugged with headphones, heavy metal quietly blaring out into the air, a half-finished tray of food beside him.

" _How did I not notice you_?" Gail whispered to herself, blinking at him.

"Dunno." He grunted back, not looking up, drawing yet another surprised jump from the archer.

The duo sat quietly for a long moment, before she slowly began to draw back into herself, gaze awkwardly finding its way back down to the pages below her.  
"You're quiet, you know that," He mumbled, getting her to snap back to him- he was looking up at her flatly, one earbud pulled out. "Didn't even hear you walk up."

"O-oh, I'm- I'm sorry-"

"Don't. Pretty sure you're the only one I can tolerate."

Her face slowly filled with a dark blush. "O-oh… th… thank you?"

He snorted as he turned back down to his notebook and pencil, beginning to sketch away again, earbud returned to his ear. She watched him for a moment longer, before letting out a small sigh, returning to her book, relaxing again as the duo lapsed back into- relative- comfortable silence, neither moving for what felt like mere minutes.

Finally, Gail's Scroll buzzed, making her flinch in surprise- and drawing Ulysses' ever-flat gaze back towards her, as she hurriedly hushed the alarm. She closed her book, gathering herself up, rising to her feet. She stalled for a moment, though, biting her lip nervously, her eyes falling to her silent companion.

"Um…" She began, flinching at unfortunate start to the sentence. "…I'm- I'm going to… go get lunch with- with our teams- DRGN and SOUL, I mean. Are… do you want to come?"

He wordlessly raised his tray without looking up to her, though a scowl slowly began to manifest onto his face.

She swallowed hard, still standing awkwardly. "…A-are you sure? I- I mean, I don't want to be pushy, it's- it is your team-"

"I want nothing to do with them," He growled out, flat, deep tone slowly twisting with irritation. "Don't. Push it. I don't like you that much."

Gail nodded quickly, immediately turning on her heel to scurry away, face burning with an embarrassed blush as she reached the desk. The librarian frowned as he looked from her to Ulysses, but didn't pry, scanning her book as she offered it. He didn't even get the opportunity to open his mouth to speak before she hurried from the library, her book clutched tightly to her chest.  
Ulysses watched her go, disinterested gaze turning back silently to his drawing as if she'd never been there.

* * *

Loud chatter echoed over the cafeteria, a mismatched motley of students of all years peppered throughout the hall, enjoying an early afternoon meal, talking amongst themselves.

Nash nodded attentively; eyes wide as he stared towards Lance. "So, when a girl comes up to you like that, what do you say?"

"…You're very pretty!"

"Yeah, okay, not a bad start. She calls you cute- what then?"

The boy's face slowly reddened, looking away abashedly. "…Than' you."

"N- _no_ , Nash," The swordsman muttered, shaking his head. "You start chatting her up! Make some moves, and when you think she's all buttered up; you ask for her number."

"Wait, whose number?"

"Gods friggin'- _Nash_!"

Oracle rolled her eyes, giving her teammate a withering side-eye. "Don't you dare corrupt this sweet, innocent boy with your filth."

He looked back to her for a moment in surprise. "…Why do you gotta say it like _that_?"

"Because it _is_ filth. Don't listen to him, Nash- if you think someone likes you, and you like 'em back, it'll just naturally happen. Ya can't force it- if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Despite what Zaffre thinks, no girls like to be treated like a piece of meat."

"Yeah, sure, and how's that going for you? Captain Broody bite that particular hook yet?"

Oracle immediately struck out, burying a fist into his side, his eyes widening as he crumpled, breath rushing from him. "Unlike you, I know what boundaries are, ya little slimy rat." She muttered.

He scooted away from her, wincing, rubbing the throbbing wound. "The correct term is 'prettiest dumpster possum,' get it right."

"Wow, a mite of self-awareness, who'd a thought?"

"Zaffre, Carmine," Shinai said calmly from his position at the other end of the table, voice filled with steely warning as he peacefully continued to eat his own meal, chopsticks in hand, not even bothering to look up to his teammates. " _Manners_."

They instinctively slumped down like chastised children, expressions somewhere between scowls and pouts. The swordsman rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sorry, _Captain Broody_."

Nash nodded solemnly in agreement. "Sorry, Mr. Kyani."

The slightest twinge of amusement appeared on the samurai's face, before he quickly schooled it into nonchalance.

Daria leaned forwards towards the gunslinger. "…Was that _emotion_?" She asked quietly, frowning.

"No." Shinai cut in before his partner had had a chance to answer, hardly stirring from his position, form immaculately proper.

Oracle gave the shorter huntress an affirming cocked eyebrow and head tilt, returning to eating her food. Daria shook her head as she followed suit, beginning to dig into her meal, Gail beside her quietly doing the same.

Rainier was sitting quietly as well- though, he hadn't touched his food; simply staring off into the distance, tanned face ever-so-slowly twisting into a scowl, hands beginning to tighten around his tray.

"…Hey," She said, leaning towards him with a shoulder nudge, default annoyed expression fading to concern. "You okay?"

He said nothing, barely giving her a second glance, breathing in evenly, trying to quell a rising tide of anger. He turned half-way in his seat, darkening eyes picking through the crowd, scanning across all of the other students sat amongst the tables scattered around the cafeteria.

His gaze came to a halt, eyes narrowing, slowly pushing his tray away from himself.

Just a short few tables away from the two teams; a tall, stocky boy was standing beside a table, three smaller teens beside him, their faces pulled into near-matching cruel sneers, snickering amongst themselves.  
In the leader's hands were a pair of long, brown rabbit ears, clutched tightly; the girl that they were attached to was roughly pulled away from her table, wincing in pain at the rough treatment, talking under her breath pleadingly to the larger huntsman.

He laughed, looking to his teammates. "I told you that they were real!" He called out, hardly caring about any of the other students around them.

"What a _freak_!" Another laughed, elbowing his friend pointedly, the quartet continuing to harass the girl in cruel enjoyment.

Daria's face twisted in distaste, her gaze returning to Rainier. "Rain…" She trailed off.

For the first time in several days, the faunus' face melted into genuine joy and satisfaction, a smile crossing his face as he turned to stare back forwards.  
The grin slowly twisted into a vicious, leering one. In one swift, nonchalant movement, he pushed himself up off of his seat, feet landing onto the edge of the table.

"Oh for-" The leader of DRGN began, shooting to her feet. Before she could finish the thought, his cannon fired, and he disappeared away from his team like a silver bolt.

The leader of the four bullies looked up, face still pulled into a cruel sneer, just in time for Rainier to collide with him with incredible force, the momentum carrying both huntsmen away from the confrontation, a table sliding out of their wake, before they finally skid to a stop.

Rainier held the teen's throat tightly in his hand, grinning down at the large huntsman forced onto one knee, leaning towards him. "You must be Cardin Winchester," He hissed quickly, never taking a breath. " _It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, you may call me Rainier Platina for the next few moments you are conscious, you sniveling little_ pila de caquita de la vaquita."  
Without giving Cardin a chance to respond, he turned on his heel, hurling the larger huntsman back into the rest of his team, the quartet tumbling down from the impact. He grinned at them twistedly, pulling his jacket off to let it fall onto ground, cracking his knuckles as he began to pick his way back towards them.

The girl was in front of him in a heartbeat, though, holding abating hands up to him. "It's _not_ worth it." She pleaded, voice lilting in a light accent.

He came to a stop, looking her up and down. "Oh, do not worry, my dear. Saving you from them is only a fortunate biproduct, yes? I am doing this, for the fun of it." He dashed around her with ridiculous speed, the other faunus twirling in her spot as he passed.

Rainier reached the recovering Team CRDL in a heartbeat, leaping into the air with a graceful twirl, a cannon shot cracking against one of the huntsman's faces, sending him hurtling over the table and away, tumbling through a mess of food as he came crashing down with a groan. The faunus let himself fall, spinning as he did so, kicking out one of the other members of CRDL's feet, the huntsman crashing down chin first onto the table with a satisfying 'crack', the Vacuoan kipping back up to his feet without a lost moment, a trio of kicks crashing into the boy's chest, before kicking him in the back of the knee, sending him down with a yell.

Rainier brutally brought his Wolf's Claws down onto the back of his head with a rocketing cannon shot, bright, giddy eyes turning to Cardin himself, stepping forwards to grab onto his throat before he could rise fully back to his feet, other hand curling back in preparation for a punch.

He wouldn't get the chance to unload onto the larger huntsman, hands grasping onto his shoulders, a foot kicking his own leg out from under him, sending him hurtling up and backwards over his attacker, landing smoothly onto his feet.

Daria stared down at herself in surprise, before immediately returning back to her expression of anger, storming up into his face. "What do you think you are doing?!"

He tried to side-step around her as Cardin rose to his feet, rubbing his throat with a wince, glaring across at Rainier. "Yeah, you listen to your little girlfriend!"

"You stay out of this, jackass!" She snapped, turning on her heel.

" _What did you_ -" He began furiously- before a hand wrapped around his shoulder. Lance bore down on him, pushing the CRDL leader down to sit on the bench, eyes daring him to make a move.

Cardin simply sat, stewing in indignation as the swordsman patted his arm roughly.

Daria turned back to her teammate. "You _cannot_ just tear up a cafeteria and attack people!"

"Oh, yes, I can. And I did! Now, dearest Daria- step aside so I may shatter his bones into kindling." Rainier spat back still trying to maneuver around her.

Her hands lashed out to grasp his shirt tightly, glaring up at him. "As your leader, frigging- _frigging stand down_! That's an _actual_ order!"

His face fell in chastisement for a moment, before immediately twisting back into defiance, opening his mouth to speak.

Before he could, the great doors to the cafeteria flew open, wind rushing in dramatically, buffeting across all the students within.

"What is the _meaning_ of this?!" Glynda snapped furiously as she stormed in, her riding crop raised high, burning green gaze scanning around before settling onto the group stood in the center of the hall.

It seemed like every pair of eyes in the cafeteria turned incriminatingly to Rainier, the room falling into untouched, dead silence. His face fell in defeat, a small groan escaping his lips, stumbling past his leader to sit beside Cardin as the stern-faced professor continued to march in.

" _Mr. Platina!_ " Goodwitch barked.

Rainier let out a resigned sigh- and lashed out with a vicious punch, smashing into Cardin's smug face, sending him sprawling onto the bench beside him.  
" _Worth it_." He muttered quietly.


	8. Chapter 7: With Friends Like These

Chapter 7: With Friends Like This

* * *

"Reckless! Rash, imprudent, and _reckless_!" Goodwitch spat, her riding crop crashing hard into the glass top of the desk.

Rainier sighed, turning his gaze away, leaning back in his chair casually, one arm slung over its back.

"Your behavior over the past few days has been just shy of overtly violent," She continued on, baring down towards the teen. "You continue to present yourself as a danger to your fellow students. Your over-indulging exhibitions during your sparring sessions are one thing, but attacking your fellow students outside of combat class is an entire other-"

"Now, now, Miss Goodwitch. Let the boy defend himself." Ozpin cut in calmly, hands steepled in front of himself, intelligent light brown eyes twinkling with amusement over the situation.

Rainier slowly brought his gaze back forwards with a frown, casting his gaze over the headmaster's sprawling, almost whimsically designed office, finally settling onto the professor himself sat before the enormous glass face of Beacon's clocktower. The faunus gave him a slightly dubious expression, slowly settling down properly into his seat, clearing his throat. "Yes, well… I… Team CRDL were… harassing the girl, and I stepped in, as one should."

Ozpin cleared his throat pointedly in return, looking down at the sheet in paper in front of him. "'He said that saving Ms. Scarlatina was simply a biproduct of the attack; he was attacking us just for the fun of it.'" He raised a cocked eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Bird-named _snitches_ -"

"Mr. Platina!" Goodwitch warned.

Rainier shook his head. "…Yes. I assaulted Team CRDL. Yes, I had done it for the satisfaction of it. But I hadn't done it for no reason- they had been harassing Miss Scarlatina, and no one had stepped up to stop them. Their actions and their behavior were the reasons I had stepped in; that just so happened to align with getting Miss Scarlatina out of that situation."

Ozpin was silent for a moment. "…So, you're saying that Miss Scarlatina, a member of Team CFVY, one of the brightest, most promising teams we have here at Beacon, was unable to protect herself?"

The faunus' face darkened, turning away. "…She-"

"-Before you speak, I want you to understand the difference in faunus-human relations between Vale and Vacuo. You've spent your life as an equal among your peers, regardless of what race they were; Velvet has not. Our relations may be better than those in Mistral or Atlas, but that does not make them perfect. I understand that in Vacuo, defending one's self is expected, is it not?"

"…Yes."

"For faunus here, the easiest answer is often to weather hate, bigotry, and discrimination, to be the better person and simply walk away-"

"That's ridiculous!" Rainier spat.

Ozpin simply nodded calmly. "Yes. It is. And it shouldn't be an expected response from a historically marginalized and segregated response; but it is. Before you judge Miss Scarlatina on her actions, consider why she took them. Yes, you saved her for a day, but a retaliation from those boys may fall on either her or your head later on."

"So you admit to knowing and allowing these things to happen?" The faunus hissed, leaning forwards.

"Hm, no. We do not discriminate our students, regardless or race, background, kingdom of origin, or personal beliefs, nor do we tolerate discrimination against any of our students, even from other students. Team CRDL will be punished suitably for their actions- we are not here to talk about their punishment, however, we are here to talk about yours."

"And?"

"You assaulted four fellow students outside of a sanctioned setting. You also protected a fellow student from harassment. I can't rightfully commend you for your actions," The professor leaned forwards conspiratorially. " _But I can't rightfully punish you for them either_ ," He leaned back, giving Goodwitch a pointed side-eye. "However, this will still appear as a mark on your record. Two more and you will be expelled; normally, assaulting another student is immediate expulsion. Keep that in mind. You are, however, free to go, and, perhaps, apologize to your team. They would be lesser without you, after all."

Rainier sat quietly for a moment, face falling in befuddlement. Slowly, he rose from his chair, ambling off towards the elevator on the opposite side of the office, sneaking looks back at the duo of professors behind him, at a loss. He entered into the elevator, turning to stare at Ozpin, eyebrows furrowed, before the doors before him closed, a pleasant beep announcing his departure.

* * *

The faunus stepped out into the lobby of the clocktower, looking around as the tension drained from him, a bemused smile crossing his face, beginning his casual stroll back towards the exit doors.

"You must be the wolf. Considering." A voice called, getting him to freeze in his place, turning on his heel.

Coco Adel marched forwards, pushing a pair of dark aviators down to the tip of her nose.

"And you must be Miss Coco Adel," Rainier shot back smoothly, bowing lowly.

"Rainier Platina-"

"Yeah, yeah, of Vacuo and all that," She muttered as she reached him, looking the faunus up and down. She extended a hand to him with a smirk. "I'm Vel's leader."

"Ah." He idly shook her outstretched limb, giving her a small nod.

"Thanks for stepping in when you did," She continued. "I can count on one hand the number of times we've eaten in the cafeteria, otherwise, we would have taken care of those punks ourselves. So thanks."

Three more figures rounded the corner- Velvet herself, and two huntsmen, one shorter and lankier, skin dark, his hair brilliant red; and one much, much larger, nearly as large as Ulysses, complexion olive-toned, dark hair buzzed against his head.

"That's Fox, Yatsu, and you already met Vel." Coco announced, gesturing to the rest of her team.

"I…" Rainier looked them over, Fox giving a wave, while Yatsu bowed lowly.

"It's… a pleasure to meet you all."

Velvet stepped forwards, giving him a small smile. "I…. want to apologize if I didn't come across very grateful in the cafeteria. I, just-"

"-You're quite alright," Rainier said quietly, shaking his head. "I do suppose I should be the one apologizing; I had intended to get you out of that situation. I just… simply accomplished it by beating up those four goons."

"Well… thank you. I'm very grateful."

"…Of course. It was my pleasure, yes?"

Coco nodded; arms crossed. "Listen, Platina- you got any problems you need help with, don't hesitate. CFVY keep their favors."

He stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head with a small chuckle.

"I'll keep that in mind, my friends. Good luck with Ozpin and Goodwitch." He nodded to the quartet, turning to exit the clocktower, stepping out into the bright midday sun-

Directly into a stiff punch to the shoulder. He jumped, turning in the air with a confused scowl.

Daria glared up at him, fists resting on her hips. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm sorry?"

She lashed out with another punch. "Who do you think you are?"

"Is there a correct answer-"

She hit him again, finally getting him to scamper out of her reach, frowning, rubbing his shoulder, finally taking in the other students standing with her, their faces a wide array of mostly amused.

"Fantastic," He muttered. "You brought everyone here to chastise me, excellent."

Lance snorted; hands folded behind his head. "You know, wolf, we've been here, like… a couple of weeks? And you're already picking fights and getting on Oz's bad side. Honestly, I'm actually pretty impressed."

"Well… it seemed like a fitting response, given the circumstances, no?"

"Yeah," Oracle muttered, leaning against the tower. "At least you looked cool before you got expelled. Ya got that goin' for ya."

"Oh, I'm not going to be expelled."

"You're probably treadin' a mighty thin line, then."

"That, I am," He shook his head, looking over his friends. "While I do apologize for ruining your lunches, I'm afraid to inform you that I'm not truly sorry. It was-"

"Impulsive," Shinai cut in, staring coldly at the faunus. "And it would have ended poorly for you in any other circumstance. Your team comes before your pride."

Rainier stared at him hard for a long few moments, before casting his gaze to the ground with a small sigh. "I…" His gaze turned to Daria, Nash and Gail, his resolve crumpling. "…You are… correct, samurai. I apologize. I will not make that mistake twice."

"Well…" Daria said, struggling for words. "…Good! Glad we got that straightened out!"

Shinai nodded, turning to leave without another word, Oracle in tow. Lance stalled for a moment, looking over the faunus, a smirk slowly climbing across his face. "Y'know; dammit, wolf. I think I'm actually starting to like you."

"Hm. Likewise, Zaffre."

The swordsman saluted, following after the other members of his team.

Nash sidled up next to Rainier, looking him up and down. "…If you were more broody, you could be the Caped Opossum."

"The… Caped Opossum?"

"You don't have _the Caped Opossum_?!"

"We did not. If he is what I think he is though, we did have Torro."

"Hey," Daria called before the duo could begin marching away. She stepped up to Rainier, staring into his eyes sternly. "Did you mean it?"

"…Mean what?"

"What you said, about apologizing and not making that mistake again? Did you mean it?"

"I…" He trailed off, staring at her. "…You're… yes. I meant it."

"You're sure."

"…For once? I am."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

He looked around at the other members of his team. "I expect you to. Now, shall we? I'm starving."

Daria shook her head as she began to walk off, Nash and Gail in tow.

Rainier hesitated, looking up to the face of the clocktower high above, face falling in a troubled expression. After a moment, he slowly pulled his gaze away, following after the rest of his team, hands stuffed into his pockets.

* * *

Ozpin stared out of the window at Rainier, watching quietly as the faunus began to march away, quietly taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

Goodwitch sighed, turning back towards the headmaster. "We can't simply let every student that breaks the rules get away without punishment."

"No, but it wouldn't do to punish a boy who went out of his way to defend others, would it? He's spent his life learning to act first and face consequences second. In the meanwhile, I would like to speak to Team CRDL again, to discuss… their consequences." He said quietly, not looking away from the window.

"Of course."

He brought up his tablet silently, quickly scanning through its contents, pulling up a new page; and Lance's portrait appeared, smiling brightly and smugly, his information sprawling across the screen in great detail. Ozpin looked back to Goodwitch. "…While Qrow's in the area, please see if he can make any inquiries into our Mr. Zaffre, Miss Goodwitch."

"Right away."

The headmaster looked back down to Lance's face, humming thoughtfully, before the Scroll went dark.

* * *

Nash let out a yelp as he lost his footing, waving his arms wildly as he dramatically began to wheel backwards, falling off of Phalanx; and directly into Daria's arms, the girl letting out a grunt as she kept him from crashing down to the floor.

His eyes went wide as he looked her over. "Wow!"

She frowned. "What?"

"You're so strong!" He began to clap, face awash with impressment.

The leader of DRGN blushed as she set him back down, shaking her head as she returned to her seat. "…I don't know how you're still alive, bud."

"Oh, y'know." He said as he quickly began to scale Phalanx again, continuing his process of looking the mech head to toe, tightening bolts, stuffing wires back inside the thick red-iron shell, investigating any small imperfections he could find.

Daria stared at him, waiting for him to continue his statement for a long moment. Finally, she rolled her eyes, reclining in her chair. "Is this the last thing you've gotta do before we can head out?"

"Yep!" He called, hidden somewhere inside of the machine.

"You sure? Because I think Rainier's starting to get antsy to fight something."

Nash's head popped out from behind Phalanx, waving a hand at her. "Oh, pssh, Rainier's always antsy!" He disappeared again.

"Well… yeah. But that's beside the point."

"Uh huh!"

She rolled her eyes again with a sigh, relaxing as she pulled her Scroll out, beginning to idly surf its contents. Nash reappeared from inside his mech, staring at her for a long few moments, expression troubled. Finally, his lips pursed into a tight line, he leaned out to rest his arms onto the mech.

"Hey, Daria?" He asked hesitantly.

Her gaze shot up to him, eyebrow cocked. "Yeah?"

He struggled for a moment, looking around for the correct words to say. "…Uh… what… 'appened to your brother?"

She jolted, eyes wide, a flash of cold running through her. "I… don't know what you mean?"

"Mm," He mumbled, his face further twisting in toil, trying desperately to get his words across. "You had that picture, 'n… it looked like it might have been, like… your… brother. 'N you seemed reall'… sad about it. I just… was wonderin'… if you wanna tell me, I mean…"

Daria stared at him, still frozen in place, her breath beginning to shorten, chest rising and falling faster and faster.  
His eyes widened as he scrambled from Phalanx, dashing towards her. "Nononono, I'm sorry, I'm sorr-"

"I'm fine," She muttered, taking several deep breaths, eyes closed as she began to re-center herself. She nodded. "I'm… fine. I just… I don't deal with… with... loss, very well."

His face fell. "Oh… 'M sorry."

"He," She looked away from her partner, shaking her head. "I don't think… he's dead. I don't know. He… he's just gone. I… I don't think I'm ready for that talk yet," Nash watched her for a moment, before somberly turning to march back towards Phalanx. She sighed. "I'll tell you. When I'm ready, okay? We'll talk about it."

He nodded back at her as he resumed his process of checking Phalanx over, the small mechanic's shop descending into silence. She watched him and his mech for a moment, guilt flashing across her face.

"Hey, Nash?" She called, his head immediately coming back into view. "You're a good egg, you know that?"

"D'aw. Thank you," He cooed, his face brightening back up. "And you're a good noodle."

She shook her head as he disappeared, a smile claiming her face again.

* * *

Iron Maw cleaved through the grimm with ease, Lance's grinning face appearing between the two halves, before he pivoted hard, massive greatsword swinging wide to crash into a grimm leaping towards him, sending it back down into the earth with ease.

"Zaffre!" Oracle called from the side. The swordsman didn't hesitate, turning hard, hurling his greatsword away, glowing blue fist striking out with a small explosion at another attacking grimm.

The gunslinger leapt in the air as Iron Maw reached her, boots planting onto its broad surface, then jumped further in the air, safely out of range of the swiping claws of the beowolves below, the steel of the blade cutting through them before finally meeting its target, halving one of the grimm at the waist, great length burying into one of the forest's massive trees.

Oracle twirled in the air, a volley of bullets blossoming out from her, skillfully finding their marks, a dozen shots whizzing around her. She hit the ground in a crouch, lifting her revolvers, letting the empty cartridges fall around her, holstering one as she pulled a fresh cartridge from her belt.

The gunslinger had barely risen back to her feet before her instincts screamed at her, turning on her heel to the still, staring snout of a beowolf, smoke beginning to wisp off of her form. With a frown, she slowly leaned around the beast, staring at the length of steel buried into its head.

A magnetic whir sounded as Shinai's katana ripped free, flying backwards to land smoothly into his hand, the samurai twirling it with a small flourish before re-sheathing it, looking around at the fallen grimm around them with an assessing glance.

The partners' gazes settled onto Lance, watching as the unarmed swordsman brutally continued to curb stomp the fallen grimm, cursing under his breath with each impact.

"Hey. Zaffre," Oracle called. "It's dead."

He scowled as he backed off of the limp creature, wiping saliva from his lips. He turned towards his teammates, shaking his head. "Yeah, no, the greatsword thing's not working for me."

"Whattaya mean? I thought it went flawlessly."

"Yeah, no, I'm not throwing it to you anymore, figure out your own way to jump in the air." Lance muttered as he marched past them, ripping the aforementioned sword free from the tree it had buried itself into, resting it on his shoulder with a sour expression.

Shinai nodded, peering around. "Very well. We will work on a new maneuver."

"See? He gets it."

The samurai turned to continue their journey into the forest, raising his Scroll high. "Seven out of sixteen. There should be another pack nearby."

"That's it?" Oracle asked, using the barrel of her pistol to push her hat further back on her head, the other two present members of SOUL following their leader. "They brought us out here for sixteen wolves?"

"So it seems."

"That feels like a waste."

"The grimm here never stop appearing. Too many would create a crisis situation. Slowly culling their number is not only efficient but serves as valuable small introductions to fighting grimm."

"I hate that thing you do- where ya take some stupid, offhand thing I say and use logic to make it sound even stupider."

"Perhaps you should start thinking before you speak, then."

She let out a laugh. "Ouch, Kyani. That was actually a good one," She went quiet for a moment, before slightly inclining her head. "What, not even a chortle from ya, blondie? You so bored you're just tuned out?" Lance said nothing, getting her to slow, turning towards her teammate. "…Blondie?"

The partners froze, staring off into the woods with a frown, picking out the vibrant red and gold of Lance's coat. They exchanged glances as they began to make their way through the underbrush towards him.

"What the hell is this?" He asked as they entered into the small clearing with him, a rare beam of light shining through the canopy to envelope it.

"What the hell is wha…" Oracle began, before trailing off.

The trio stared at the remains of two shattered statues, ancient and weathered, slowly being reclaimed by the forest around them. One statue was simply feet and what appeared to be the bottom half of a cane of some sort; the other was completely destroyed, huge chunks of marble haphazardly laid about the clearing, only its pedestal still standing.

"…They are old," Shinai mused as he stepped forwards, resting a hand onto one of the boulders. "Very old."

Oracle shook her head, arms crossed. "This ain't creepy at all."

"…Maybe this has something to do with that temple, where Oz was keeping the chess pieces?" Lance asked, slowly making his way around the statues, looking them over with a frown.

The samurai hummed as he stepped back. "…Perhaps. We need to keep moving. The sun will set before long."

Oracle nodded, following after him, giving Lance a raised eyebrow. "Come on, Zaffre, you can bother Oz about it when we get back to campus."

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered as he marched from the clearing, gaze not leaving the remnants of the statues until they disappeared into the depths of the forest; out of sight and out of mind.

* * *

Ulysses inclined his head at the mechanic as she disappeared around the corner, the sound of mechanical equipment whirring in the next room. Another mechanic entered into the lobby opposite of him, taking a place behind the counter, leaning against it.

"What'd you do to it this time?" The mechanic asked, his nametag reading 'Dave'.

The brooding huntsman shook his head. "Shits thought it would be a good idea to take it for a ride."

"Ha! And how'd that go for them?"

Ulysses' gazes slowly drifted to the side, a low, disappointed rumble escaping his throat. "…We're not allowed to fight off campus…"

"You're a huntsman, now, I keep forgettin' that," Dave said, throwing a towel over his shoulder. "How's that goin' for you?"

The huntsman simply let out a snort, averting his gaze.

"That bad, huh?" The teen said nothing, turning his gaze to the TV suspended above their heads, an old tournament bout between huntsmen unfolding across its screen, '25 Greatest Fights' crossing across the banner at the bottom.

Dave shrugged. "Maybe you should try actually giving it a chance-"

Ulysses- his head staying stationary- turned a flat, dark stare towards the mechanic silently, unblinking.

Dave lifted his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright. Forget I said anything."

"Oi, Carb!" A voice barked from the garage beyond. "Give me a 'and, 'ere, would ya?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'…" He muttered as he turned to follow after his co-worker, disappearing into the noisy garage beyond, the two mechanics descending into shouting as the room lit up with sparks and the whirring of equipment.

Ulysses grunted as he returned his attention to the TV idly, arms crossed over his chest sourly- and then stilled, eyebrows furrowing.

A huntsman and a huntress stood in crystal clarity, both young, the stadium behind them surprisingly large, a huge crowd cheering as the duo stared off.  
The huntress was dressed in leathers and gold, long red hair pulled into a high ponytail on her head, a shield held in one hand and javelin in the other, a bright, but polite smile planted on her face, bowing respectfully to her opponent

The huntsman opposite her was paler, dressed in blacks and purples, hair shaggy around his head, inklings of stubble standing out across his jaw, dark, heavy bags hanging beneath a just as heavy purple gaze, the tip of his katana resting against the tile floor, head lowered predatorily, pacing restlessly.

" _Th_ _e challenger, hailing from Patch; Shinai Kyani! And the defending back-to-back-to-back champion, hailing from Argus; Pyrrha Nikos!_ " A deep voiced announcer called, echoing across the stadium as the crowd cheered wildly for the huntress.

The opponents stared off, Pyrrha saying something that the cameras didn't pick up; Shinai simply paced quietly.

" _3! 2! 1! Begin!_ "

With a snarl, Shinai charged forwards, fury and hurt written in his face, the two combatants meeting in the center.

Ulysses watched the fight unfold, his confusion slowly fading into a look of surprise and even amazement, leaning back in his chair with slightly wide eyes, watching the battle, at a loss.

"Ulysses! Hey, _Ebony_!" He snapped back out of his trance, looking towards the exit to the garage. Dave was standing in the doorway, an eyebrow raised. "I said your bike's done."

The huntsman nodded, rising to his feet, beginning his march towards his waiting bike. He gave one last look to the TV, Pyrrha standing over Shinai, javelin raised high, before he rounded the corner, the screen disappearing from view. The other mechanic gave him a head nod, chewing on a piece of gum.

He looked over the sleek black exterior of the chopper, nodding to the mechanics, satisfied.

"Next time ya bring it in," The woman said, two feline ears on her head twitching. "Make sure you did something cool to it, aight?"

He snorted as he walked it out into the afternoon air of Vale, starting it on the first go with ease, the roar of its engine filling the garage. "Can do." He muttered, more to himself, before revving the throttle, taking off from the mechanic's shop and onto the city's streets, disappearing into the night.

* * *

"So two statues, huh?" Daria asked, leaning against the fountain's barrier, an eyebrow cocked towards Lance and Oracle, half-eaten burger in hand, the sun beginning to set behind her, casting the courtyard in a warm, dying glow.

The gunslinger shrugged, taking a bite of a fry. "Weirdest damn thing. Just…"

"Just out there, huh?"

"I need to remember to ask Ozpin about it when I see him." Lance added, a fairly bare box of chicken and rice in his lap, eating absentmindedly.

Gail sat quietly for a moment, a troubled expression on her face. Finally, she swallowed hard, looking to the other students. "Well… m… maybe, there… before, Vale, there were… lots of other, um… kingdoms… it might be a, uh… leftover?"

Oracle shrugged. "Whatever the hell they were, they creeped me the hell out."

"You swear like a sailor." Nash said pointedly, one finger, as well, pointed towards her.

"No, I swear like a cowboy, there's a difference."

"…Cowboys don't swear."

"Oh. Nash, darlin'," She turned towards the leader of DRGN. "Daria, you've gotta protect this boy at all costs."

"As far as I am aware," Rainier called from his perch a few meters away from the rest of the group, gaze locked to the night sky. "Yourself and Lance are the two greatest dangers to him outside of myself, yes?"

"What's that supposed to mean, wolf?"

"All that I am saying is if any one, or three, individuals were to corrupt the poor boy," He shrugged. "It would be us."

"That's pretty damn accusatory for the boy who just almost got expelled."

"Almost, my dear. Almost."

"You did it again!" Nash cried, pointing his finger more intensely towards the gunslinger, looking around to his teammates for some sort of confirmation.

Oracle rolled her eyes, turning back forwards- and then blinked in surprise, quickly shooting to her feet, meal lost. "Babe!"

Yang grinned as she strolled forwards to meet the gunslinger, the huntresses embracing. "Good to see you, cowgirl."

They separated, Oracle turning towards the rest of her friends. "Zaffre, you already met Yang,"

He inclined his head to her. "Sup."

"Long time no see. Still a punk?"

"Still out of your league, yeah."

"He's great." Yang said to her old friend.

"That's Captain Broody himself," Oracle continued, her leader bowing his head respectfully. "Shinai- no, wait. _Kyani_ Shinai. Ebony's not here, cause he never is. That's Daria, Nash, Gail, and back there's Rainier, Team DRGN."

"Oh hey!" The blonde called out, getting the faunus to turn to her with an amused grin. "I remember you two from the induction night. Glad to see you guys have good taste in friends."

Nash jolted in recognition, eyes going wide. "You! I… I dunno who you are."

"Oh, right. Yeah, you were pretty much asleep."

"Yea, that sounds like me."

Oracle elbowed Yang. "I got your text, thought you were never gonna show."

"Yeah, well, you guys are a _weirdly_ hard group of people to find," She turned back to the other gathered huntsmen. "Hey- since we're all here… mostly, we've got a couple open spots at our hiding spot out towards the edge of campus, if you guys wanna come join us."

"And, pray tell," Rainier called suspiciously as he rounded the fountain to join the rest of his friends. "Who exactly is… 'we'?"

"My team and JNPR."

Nash raised his gaze to the stars beginning to appear in the sky, rapidly whispering under his breath, counting off on his fingers- before his eyes widened, a gasp escaping his lips, turning back towards Daria. "… _We have to go._ "

"…Why?" She asked with a frown.

"Because _Pyrrha Nikos_ is gonna be there."

Her face fell in understanding. "Well… yeah. Fine. We can go. Rainier, you coming?"

He shrugged, his food in hand. "I hardly see why not. I am ecstatic to see Miss Schnee again."

Yang let out a long snort, stifling a laugh. "Yeah. She's gonna love that. Anyone else is free to come."

The others looked to each other for a moment before beginning to rise to their feet to follow after the huntress- with the exception of Gail, who was firmly planted in her seat, both her feet and her hands tapping nervously, a grimace crossing her face. She wrenched her eyes shut tightly, taking a deep steadying breath in.

Finally, she hesitantly rose to her feet, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists, steeling herself as she joined the rest of her friends.

"Alright then," Yang nodded. "Let's go. It's a short walk. You guys'll love them."

* * *

"Okay, but if I throw Crescent Moon-"

"Ruby, I don't think you can throw Crescent Moon that hard." Pyrrha said quietly, a hand placed on the girl's shoulder comfortingly.

The leader of RWBY melted in her spot, letting out a groan. "But it'd be so cool…"

"Yang has returned!" The pink-clad Nora cried, pointing intensely off to the side. "With the promised friends!"

The eyes of RWBY and JNPR turned to the side as Yang marched forwards, DRGN and three quarters of SOUL following behind. She gave a wave. "Yep. These are them."

Ruby shied away from the new huntsmen for a brief moment- before shooting to her feet like a bullet, eyes wide. "ORACLE!"

In a red blur, rose petals appearing in her wake, she zoomed past the rest of the new huntsmen, crashing directly into Oracle hard. The duo slid several meters before coming to a stop, Ruby hugging the gunslinger tightly. After a moment of shock, a grin spread across Oracle's face, returning the hug warmly.

"Hey there, kiddo."

"How've you been?! It's been forever!"

"I'm alright, Rubes, you're…" The older huntress looked her up and down. "…The exact same height you were last time."

That drained the enthusiasm from Ruby's face. "…I swear I'm taller."

Oracle hugged her again as they returned to the rest of the group.

Yang gestured to the seated huntsmen. "Gang, that's Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, JNPR, and that's Rubes, Weiss and Blake. We're RWBY."

Weiss rose to her feet, brushing her skirt off- and froze, gaze freezing on Rainier, face going stony. "Oh. It's you."

The faunus bowed lowly with a flourish. "It's a pleasure to make your reacquaintance, Miss Schnee."

The heiress harrumphed as she sat back down, returning to her dinner coldly. Blake, though, smiled to the Vacuoan. "Thank you for stepping in and stopping CRDL from harassing Velvet. It's not often that someone actually steps up to do something."

Rainier, though, leaned back uncomfortably, gaze shifting between Daria and Shinai. "Er… how did you hear about that encounter, exactly?"

Pyrrha sighed. "We were there. It was… quite a sight."

"And…" His face fell in a frown. "None of you did anything?"

"We're, uh…" Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we're all just a little too used to Cardin by now."

Rainier snorted as he stepped off to the side, taking a seat a few meters from the group. "Well… that's hardly an excuse."

"Uh…" Yang began, before clearing her throat. "Anyways, other gang, this is DRGN and, eh, most of SOUL, I think we don't talk about the other guy. Sit, eat! Our clique's power grows by the day."

Daria didn't hesitate to take a seat next to Pyrrha, Nash and Gail in tow. "Hey, Pyrrha."

"Mm, _hello, Daria_ ~" The huntress said back in a sing-song voice, smiling contently.

"Daria!" Jaune said quickly. "Right! Daria, that- that was exactly… what I was about to say. Daria."

"You can't remember my name, it's fine," The aforementioned huntress muttered. "Not like it's the first time it happened."

"Oh, okay. Cool. It's alright- happens to me, hehe… all the time."

Pyrrha looked back and forth between them happily. "It's rather nice to have old friends meet new… friends! For a moment, I thought our encounter in the forest was going to be our only one! I'm happy to see it wasn't."

Daria stared at her, face quickly darkening, letting out a nervous giggle, immediately digging back into her food as busily as she could.

Nash, though, leaned towards the redheaded huntress. "… _You're Pyrrha Nikos_." He whispered reverently.

"Uh…" She blinked awkwardly. "Yes? I am?"

The boy let out a squeak, staring at her with wide eyes. "…You're very pretty."

"I-" She trailed off, blushing, a hand raised to her chest. "Thank you. You're very handsome."

He receded backwards, a dark blush of his own claiming his face as he shimmied under the compliment, grinning. "Thank _youuu_ …"

Pyrrha chuckled, turning back to Daria. "Your friend is adorable."

"Mmhm!" She managed to muffle out, still busily burying her face in her food distractingly.

Ren nodded to Shinai. "Your name is Mistrali, isn't it?"

The samurai blinked, looking up from his bowl, chopsticks in hand. "…Yes, it is… as is yours."

"Lie Ren."

"Kyani Shinai."

They shook hands, giving each other deep head nods. Ren pulled back, looking down at his own pair of chopsticks with a slight, content smile. "It's… been some time since I've visited with someone of my own culture."

"Ah… I was… raised in the huntsmen temple, here in Vale, though my master was Mistrali."

"I suppose there's not much difference where you were raised if you share the same traditions."

"No, no I suppose there is not."

"Gosh," Nora said, leaning between them. "I spent my whole childhood in Mistral, and I never learned any of _this_ stuff."

Shinai gave Ren a side eye, an eyebrow cocked. The ninja gave a small smile. "…You get used to her."

Oracle threw her arms over Yang's and Ruby's shoulders, grinning broadly, letting out a satisfied sigh. "I missed you girls."

"D'aw," Ruby said, leaning against her. "I missed you too. You stopped visiting!"

"I, uh… had some stuff at home to deal with. Wasn't anythin' you girls did."

"Well… we're here now, I guess."

"And you're the leader of your own team, hon. I'm really proud of ya… your ma would be too."

Ruby's face fell, gaze turning to the ground. "…Thanks, O."

Lance watched the interaction with a frown, catching Oracle's warning side eye. He rolled his eyes, before gesturing to the group wider with his fork. "Hey, how'd you guys meet up anyways? Just decide to get together willy-nilly?"

"Oh," Nora said, waving him off. "Pfft, we fought some super deadly grimm in the Forest together back in the second day. Trauma has a great way of bringing people together!"

The present members of DRGN and SOUL stopped, looking to each other in mirror expressions of dumbfoundment. Lance was the first to break the silence, blinking. "…Huh. Us too."

"Well that's super weird!"

"…Yeah."

Rainier shrugged; his attention returned to the group. "I suppose it may not be a rare thing, yes? There are apparently many horribly dangerous things in the Emerald Forest. Who knows; there may be another group of huntsmen in our own year that may be united through combat, such as we are."

"Yeah… guess you're right."

Yang spread her arms with a bright grin. "But look at us now! Four…ish teams, united. We'll be unstoppable!"

Oracle shook her head with a small, content smile. "Your thirteen-year master plan finally paid off, did it, babe?"

"You bet it did! Nothing can stop us now!"

* * *

" _Vegas Gold_!" The man spat as he stormed forwards, sweeping ginger hair to the side as he replaced his bowler cap back onto his head, a cigar clenched tightly in his teeth, cane swinging wildly, white long coat swaying around his legs.

The figure standing alone across the room from him slowly looked up, back turned towards him, idly combing blonde hair back, dressed in leather, sleeveless long coat, form covered in golds and muted browns. He reached forwards and pulled something off of the table in front of him, brilliant golden eyes turning over his shoulder with a cocked eyebrow. "Roman."

Roman growled as he continued his furious march towards the other man. "We have talked about this! You do _not_ get to kill my men!"

Vegas turned around to face the other man completely- sheathed over his right arm was a massive golden sword running parallel with the limb, attached to his forearm. Its surface steamed with heat, the tip of its blade slowly glowing orange. "They're not even your men."

"Maybe not, but gods damn it they were expensive!"

The golden figure began to walk towards Roman, meeting him halfway. He stared down at the ginger with an unimpressed, raised eyebrow. "So buy more. That's not my problem, Rome."

"Listen, Gold, we are on a budget here, in case you've forgotten. Junior's offering a lot of men, but they're expensive, and not worth half the cost; so if you could stop offing them, that'd be great!"

"I reiterate, not my problem."

"Alright, then- what's your excuse? I wanna hear this one."

"He was pissing me off."

"So that's it, huh? Just a few," Roman wiggled his fingers in front of his companion's face. " _Mean spirited_ words, and you just slice-slice, huh?"

Vegas lashed out, catching the limb before it could retract, clenching tightly. "Maybe I should reintroduce myself; my name is Vegas Gold. I work for some very bad people, because I am a _very bad person_."

"Nice to meetcha, Vegas, my name's Roman Torchwick; the man _running this operation_ , in case you've forgotten!" He snapped back, ripping his hand free, waving his cane in the air furiously, not backing down from the larger criminal.

Gold snorted as he stepped back coolly from his partner. "So I've heard, mob boss. Gangster? What- what do you prefer? Mook?"

"You're pretty funny for a hired killer."

" _The_ hired killer. Don't sell me short."

"Well, Mr. _The_ Hired Killer, I'm going to respectfully ask you to stop gods damn killing my men! We've got a finite supply, and those mutts from the White Fang aren't worth the trouble of getting them in the first place!"

"I'm fairly certain my- sorry, _our_ superior's orders were to make do. So make. Do."

Roman watched him for a moment, before shaking his head, stepping forwards to join him at the large table dominating the far wall of the warehouse. The mob boss leaned forwards, pulling his cigar from his mouth as he stared at the plans and maps below. "…I'm trying my _best_ , Gold. If that friggin' red brat in the cape gets in my way _one more time_ , though…"

"Don't worry. I'll be waiting at the docks," Vegas muttered, leaning his hip against the table, the tension slowly draining from the room. "If she shows up-"

"No, no. She's mine. I deserve at least that much from this entire thing."

"Have it your way, then. When's the operation happening?"

"Couple of days. Still gotta ' _rally the troops_!' or some crap like that. Still gonna be at the docks, we just need the rest of the White Fang to show up, and we'll be golden."

An insistent tapping sounded out from behind the two criminals, getting them to turn curiously; a few meters behind them was a short, younger woman, dressed similarly to Roman in formal white and black, an ornate parasol at her side, her hair half pink, half brown, her eyes vice versa. She raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Roman shook his head. "Oh, yeah, yeah; Vegas, that's Neo, she doesn't talk; Neo, that's Vegas, he kills people, there, you're introduced," She gave the killer a small wave, getting a put-off, confused one in return. "What do you need?"

She cocked her head silently to the side; around the corner, a White Fang member was standing nervously, peering at the two killers, dressed in the Fang's default white and grey attire, an alabaster mask covering most of his face, a tail curled under his legs.

Roman rolled his eyes, stepping towards him, patting his legs. "Well, come on then, boy. Come on, you can do it," He whistled. "Here, boy, here!"

The faunus' terror slowly faded to irritation as he stepped around the corner, lugging a massive crate on a jack behind him, dragging it over towards the center of the room.

The quartet stood silently for a long moment awkwardly. Finally, the mob boss gestured over-exaggeratedly to the White Fang. "…Well? _Open it_."

The faunus begrudgingly picked a crowbar off the jack, ripping the lid off of the crate to let it fall to the side with a loud clatter, echoing across the warehouse walls. The trio of criminals stepped forwards to peer into the box.

Roman pulled out a gleaming blue crystal, looking it over curiously. "Well, well. Prime, Schnee Dust crystals. Not bad, not bad," He placed it back into its place, looking over the dozens of crystals of varying colors held within the box. He shook his head, turning back to the far wall and the map laid onto it. "…Still… we're gonna need more men if we really want to pull this off." He gave a pointed look to Vegas.

The killer slowly grinned, marching over to the maps. He looked over the map of Vale, its surface littered with red 'x's and circles. He raised his blade and pushed it into the map, the paper sizzling with the heat, curling at the edges as the golden sword continued to push through and into the wall behind it, cutting through the cement with absolute ease.

"With friends like these... _who needs men_?"

Where Beacon had sat on the map, circled urgently in red, was now a singed, burned hole, slowly curling away at the edges.


	9. Chapter 8: The Hunt

Chapter 8: The Hunt

* * *

Shinai bowed his head, sipping from the steaming cup. He nodded slightly, musing silently for a moment, before inclining his head again. "This is very good, what is in it?"

Ren nodded back, taking a drink from his own mug. "Ah, these are _oolong_ tea leaves. They're… not exactly inexpensive, but I like to keep a small stock of them, for occasions like this. What do you generally drink?"

"Simple _ryokucha_ green. Tea was generally only ever had during special occasions in the Temple, or occasions where a ceremony would need to be held. Most traditionally Mistrali comforts were… rare."

"That's unfortunate. It was always an everyday pleasure in my home."

"Did you grow up in the city?"

"I-"

Nora appeared from seemingly nowhere, pushing between the two roughly, only their quick reflexes saving their drinks. "Ren, I don't think I've ever seen you this into culture stuff!"

Shinai's gaze slowly turned towards Ren flatly, purple eyes meeting pink. Ren shook his head, placing his cup off to the side. "It's just… been a long time since we've met someone who gets it. It's nice to talk to someone else who knows the traditions. That's all."

"You two talk like you've been together for a long time." Oracle called over from her perch leaning against a tree, currently in the midst of peeling an apple with a knife.

"What?" Nora called out, stiffening. "Haha, we're not- we're not together! I mean, together-together, he's just my only childhood friend! That's it, haha!"

"Yeah, they're just like this," Jaune said, shaking his head. "And they always say and do weird inside things that I still, genuinely, have no idea about."

A red blur shoot through the midst of the gathered friends, coming to a stop directly before Jaune. Lance leaned back to get a better look at the other swordsman, one eyebrow cocked. " _Yooou_ …" He muttered, trailing off, beginning to round him with an assessing gaze, chin held in one hand. He came to a stop, staring down at the smaller huntsman. "…Wow… It's almost _uncanny_."

"Uh… I'm- I'm sorry?"

"It's like… looking in a funhouse mirror. It's like we're the same person from two completely separate universes," Lance gave him another once-over. "But you're from a universe where we're not nearly as cool."

"I-" Jaune looked uncertainly towards Pyrrha, leaning away from the other swordsman, sweat beginning to build on his brow. "Uh… was that a compliment?"

"A compliment? No, no, no, no. No. I can't have my doppelganger runnin' around making me look bad. No, no, no. This is my solemn vow, Arc; whatever it costs, whatever it takes, I will save you. I will free you. I will make you cool," Lance threw an arm over the other blonde's shoulder, looking out into the distance, nodding. "I always wanted a little brother to _inspire_ to be better. This'll have to do, Middle Me."

"Mi… middle me?"

"I already have a Mini Me, so you'll have to settle for second."

"I, uh… I don't… thank you? I think I should be thanking you? I guess?"

Lance turned towards Jaune, clapping him on the shoulder with a stern look. "Don't thank me until we're both waking up the morning after a party at a stranger's house without any idea of how we got there. _You like parties, son_?"

"Uh… yeah? I think the right answer is yes?"

"You like being alone on Friday nights?"

"N…o?"

Lance seized Jaune's hand in a tight grip, giving him a hard nod. "Now that's a gods damned red-blooded huntsman right there."

"He's gotta point," Oracle called over without looking up. "Ya could use a pointer or two to maybe not come across like such a wet noodle- no offense, hon."

"…None taken." The swordsman said with a defeated sigh, idly rubbing his hand as Lance stepped away.

"Zaffre ain't the one to do it though- he barely knows the difference between flirtin' and blowin' air outta his ass, and I bet there are places on a woman's body he's never even heard of."

"Yeah, yeah, it's not like you haven't spat that at me before," The greatswordsman shot back. "Get some new material, you're ten-ply."

"Oh, ten-ply, huh? It ain't like everyone and their dog says that. But keep talkin' about me havin' stale material, you'll win an argument with me eventually."

Pyrrha cleared her throat pointedly, derailing the two huntsmen before they could get started, a small, uncertain smile painted across her face. "I think we should simply let Jaune be who he is; he doesn't need to be anyone else."

Lance and Oracle turned towards her in unison, dual gazes flat with disbelief. The former snorted, while the latter shook her head. "Pyrrha, darlin', ya can't possibly believe that."

"I mean- look at him. He's like a puppy. A puppy that's gonna get murdered by a snake, or something. 'Sides, if I have to see him get turned down by Schnee one more time, I might just actually throw myself off the cliff again." Lance added, arms crossed.

Pyrrha crossed her arms in return, face turning defiant. "Well, I happen to like Jaune just the way he is, thank you very much."

"…Thanks, Pyrrha." Jaune said, giving her a genuinely sincere, small smile.

The two members of SOUL leaned back in their spots, eyes meeting again, narrowing in suspicion, though they said nothing else.

Ren looked between the quartet, before turning back towards the unbothered

Shinai, still quietly sipping his tea. "Your teammates are…"

"Unique, yes."

"I was going to say; nice."

The samurai stilled in the midst of drinking, staring down into the dark depths of his cup thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowing. Finally, he sighed, face melting back into its trademark stoicism. "…Yes. They are."

* * *

"Now, now, no need to be-"

"Ooh, you better think really carefully about your next words."

"Or?"

"Or- or- or I'll-"

Rainier stopped, turning to Daria with an amused, cocked eyebrow, hands on his hips. "You'll what?"

She trailed off, face twisting in indignation, color slowly darkening. She pointed a furious finger in his face, only a frustrated squeak managing to escape her lips, shaking.

He grinned back down to her, non-plussed, before placing a small kiss on the back of her hand.

"Gods!" She barked, storming away from him, hands in the air. "You're impossible!"

" _Improbable_!"

"Stop!"

"Never."

"Yo, wait up!"

Both members of DRGN came to a stop, turning back down the stone pathway they'd been travelling; Yang and Ruby were walking up behind them in a hurried pace to catch up with the other duo.

Yang looked between the two of them. "You two okay?"

"Oh, just-" Rainier began.

"Peachy." Daria finished sourly.

"Yeah… sure. If you guys say so. Hey, Rainier, you got a moment?"

The faunus blinked in surprise, leaning back with a small, sparkling grin. "Why, for you? _Of course,_ Miss Xiao Long."

"Enough of that, we've got a problem."

The DRGN members looked between the two sisters, their faces slowly falling.

Daria stepped towards them. "What's going on?"

"It's Blake," Ruby said quietly, silver eyes filled with regret. "She's gone."

"…Gone?"

"She… she and Weiss got into an argument, and… she ran. We haven't seen her since yesterday."

"And where is our dear Miss Schnee?" Rainier chimed in, cocking his head to the side curiously.

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "She's waiting back at the room. We're gonna head out into town again to see if we can find her."

"And she didn't want to see me? How utterly inconceivable."

"Rainier," Daria muttered. "More important things at the moment."

"…Right. Apologies."

"We wanted to see if you would, maybe, help us look for her?" Ruby broached tentatively.

The faunus stared back at her inquisitively for a moment, eyebrow slowly raising, suspicion overtaking his features. "…And why would you do that?"

"Uh! Well, it's… you're, uh-"

"You're a sleuthy guy," Yang cut in, giving her sister a look full of warning. "…You can't tell me you're not. I don't know if it'll help at all, but you lending a hand would… _really_ just make us feel a whole lot better about it."

Rainier and Daria shared a side-eyed glance, neither missing the interaction between the sisters, before the former cleared his throat. "I suppose I… could help you search for her. Do you know where she would have gone?"

Ruby shook her head. "She just… left. She won't answer her Scroll, no one's seen her since, like, lunch yesterday."

"So she'd be in town, then- if she wished to disappear, she would have gone there."

"That was our thought process, yes."

"…May I ask what the argument between Misses Schnee and Belladonna was?"

The huntresses went quiet for a moment, looking to each other unsurely. Yang broke the silence with a sigh, shaking her head. "It's… complicated-"

" _'Complicated_ -complicated', or ' _we can't tell you_ -complicated'?" Daria asked, arms crossed over her chest.

"…Both?"

"Course."

Rainier shrugged, hands clasping behind his back. "Very well. It wouldn't do to let two beautiful-" Yang gave him a sharp, stern look. " _Dangerous_ , independent and very capable huntresses down… allow me to try that again. It wouldn't do to let my new friends down, no? I will aid in your search for Miss Belladonna. I'll head out with due haste."

"Hey," Daria cut in quickly, giving him a look. "You're not going to invite me?"

"Invite you? Ha! Dearest Daria, I do my best work alone," His smug look faded into a more sincere one. "…I also believe that I need some time alone, my dear. This search seems to me as good an opportunity as any to clear my head and gather my thoughts."

The teammates stared off for a moment, before his leader sighed in resignation, looking back to the sisters. "…Keep me updated, alright?"

Yang gave her a grin back. "Can do. We'll have our girl back lickety-split."

"Thanks, Rainier," Ruby said, offering the faunus a small smile. "We really, really appreciate it."

He stilled for a moment, mouth opening slightly in preparation of a riposte. Finally, he simply shot her a small smile of his own, giving her a tiny nod. "…Of course, Miss Rose," He nodded to Daria as he began to split off from the trio of huntresses, waving them off lazily. "I'll be back by dinner, Dearest!"

"You better be, little friggin'…" She trailed off sourly.

"Don't worry," Yang nodded. "He'll- we'll be alright. We'll give you a call tonight, yeah?"

"…Yeah."

"We're… going to go now," Ruby said awkwardly, teetering on her feet. "Okay, byeee."

Daria watched as the two huntresses turned to leave towards their dormitory, the leader of DRGN left alone on the concrete path. She let out a groan as she continued her path towards her own room, muttering to herself sourly as she went.

* * *

The elevator whirred noisily as he continued its assent, the quickly shrinking spread of Beacon Academy blurring past the shaft's crystal-clear windows.

Lance, though, was staring steadfastly at the doors ahead, leaning against the back wall, hands gripping the guard rail tightly. His face was drawn into a poorly hidden grimace, lips pulled thin, his chest rising and falling in a vain attempt to try and force himself to relax.

 _"Come on, man_ ," He muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Chill. It's no big deal. He's probably just going to ask about that shitty math grade. That's it. Principals do this all the time. No biggie…" He trailed off, head falling with a sigh. " _Who are you foolin_ '…"

The elevator beeped pleasantly, the doors sliding open, Ozpin's office coming into view. The swordsman hesitated for a moment, before slowly stepping out into the wide-open, ornately designed room. The headmaster looked up as Lance trepidatiously marched towards him.

Ozpin gave him a small smile, before his expression turned serious again. He gestured to the seat before him. "Please, Mr. Zaffre. Have a seat. I think we have quite a lot to talk about."

* * *

Rainier let out a sigh as he stepped under the wide arch hanging over the street, two workers suspended on ladders on either side, currently hanging a colorful, green banner; ' _Welcome to Vale_!' it read boldly. He offered the duo stiff nods, his gaze casting around the city street curiously, watching as a bustle of activity continued to unfold, citizens dressing up the brick facades of the city with streamers, banners, balloons, flags, and a motley of other festive decorations.

"Looks like home." He muttered, hands digging into his pockets, the tension beginning to drain from him as he continued onwards, looking around the city's considerable commercial district with a relaxed grin, not a sense of urgency in his movements. He slowed to a stop, looking to the shop beside him with a cocked eyebrow, mulling a thought over, turning to enter.

"Hello!" The cashier called brightly, a smile splitting her face as the faunus walked in, looking around the small building curiously. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just perusing." He said back, idly making his way towards the front counter, crouching low to stare at the brightly colored pastries held safely behind the glass partition.

"Your accent," She began, leaning over to look down at him. "You're not from around here?"

Rainier flashed her a bright smile. "No, no, I come from Vacuo."

" _Vacuo_ ," She began with a gasp, eyes wide. "You must be here for the Vytal Festival! You're a huntsman?"

"Well…" He straightened back up, inclining his head to her with a coy expression. "You're correct on one of those regards," He extended his hand to her. "My name is Rainier Platina, son of Camilla and Leonardo Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo. And you are, my dear?"

She took his hand, nearly jumping in shock as he lifted it to his mouth, planting a kiss onto her knuckles. A dark blush spread across her cheeks, her hands reaching up to nervously run through her hair. "O-oh! Oh, I'm- I'm, my name is Sacchari- Sacchy! You can call me Sacchy."

"Mm, Sacchy. What a lovely name; sweet, even," He paused as she burst out into giggles. "Miss Sacchy, I will simply take a dozen _donas_ \- donuts."

"Uh… uh, what- what kind? Would you like, I mean?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him, lips pursed.

He grinned broadly at her. "Surprise me."

Sacchy nodded quickly, turning away shakily, beginning the process of carefully picking out donuts from below, thinking hard over each selection, placing them into a small white box. She popped back up with a bright, unsure grin. "I… I picked some of my favorites. I think you'll really like them."

Rainier peeked into the box with a raised eyebrow. A satisfied smile crossed his face, closing the lid. "This looks absolutely delicious. Vale delicacies, I can see. You must be an incredibly talented baker."

"O-oh, no. My dad bakes everything, I- I just help sell them."

"Well," He shot her a wink. "Thus far, you're doing a stellar job, yes?"

She grinned at him toothily, stifling another round of giggles, before shaking her head, breaking free from the momentary interaction. "Um, that'll- that'll be 70 lien."

He quickly placed a stack of bills onto the table, turning his smile back towards her. "140. Keep the change, my dear Sacchy."

She stared down at the bills blinking owlishly. "I- um, thank… thank you, Mr. Rainier- Platina."

"Oh, don't worry. The pleasure was all mine," He picked his box up, giving her a bow as he began to back away. "Have a beautiful day, Miss Sacchy."

"Y- you too!" She called as the faunus exited the store, staring after him wistfully, leaning against the counter.

Rainier grinned as he stepped back out into the warm, late afternoon air, a content sigh escaping his lips. "They're all crazy; you still have it." He nodded to himself as he continued on his way, eyes turned towards the clouds above, basking in the light.

"I _told you_ he had a tail." A voice muttered from behind him, joined by a chorus of snickers.

"Jeez, what the hell is wrong with him?"

Rainier came to a stop, his smile slowly falling, expression settling into irritation.

"Hey, hey you, mutt!" One of the voices called. "Turn around!"

The faunus brought his gaze back down, letting out a small sigh. He calmly placed the box of donuts beside him, casually turning towards the voices; a group of teens, similar to his age, were gathered, looking towards him with a mix of distaste and cruel humor.

"Man," One muttered. "You can't even really _tell_ he's one of them from this angle."

"Look at his leg! He's even got dog paws!"

"Like it's something to be proud of."

Rainier's smile came back to his face, head cocking to the side. "May I help you all?"

"What's it like?" One asked, poking through the rest of the group. "Being like that?"

"What? Incomparably handsome, extraordinarily charismatic, talented and skilled beyond my years? You're going to have to be more specific than that, my _clase baja_ friends."

"Being a freak!"

"Yeah!" Another added.

Rainier looked between the group of teens, idly pushing the box away from him, lifting his arms in a languid stretch. "…Well, if you're referring to my tail, then I'm not sure of what 'freak' you're speaking of. If you're referring to my leg, however… I'm _more than willing to show you, yes_?"

"Show us? You really think that you could take on all of us?!"

"Yeah, we grew up on these streets! We're tougher than any Vacuoan mutt!"

The faunus continued to stretch, looking the group up and down, taking in their casual clothes, leaner forms, and lack of any armaments between them. "Yes, I'm certain you are. Do we say one minute? No, that's selling myself far too short, I can do it in thirty. Hell, let's make it fifteen, I _do_ appreciate a good challenge."

They looked between each other, tension settling over the street. "What the hell are you on about, dog?"

" _Wolf_ , and I'm simply deciding how long it will take me to break each of you." He settled in his place, Wolf's Claws sliding behind him as a grin slowly crept across his face, the group similarly preparing to fight, spreading out around him.

He began to move- when his gaze fell onto the glass of the pastry shop; Sacchy was watching with wide, terrified eyes, a man standing behind her, a Scroll held in his hand with a worried frown. He looked back to the group of teens, his fury holding for another few moments.

And then he slumped with a sigh, the tension draining from him. He rose back to his full height, looking around at the sloppy half-circle surrounding him. "While I would love to fight, my gutless, _cobarde_ friends, I simply don't have the time, and it's not remotely worth the trouble. But I will leave you with some words of advice; your lives mean next to nothing. If you would have stood and fought here today, assuming you even know how to activate your auras, I would have slaughtered you without a second thought. I have more meaning to this city as a faunus foreigner from the opposite side of the continent than you do as human locals. Now, this is where we say our goodbyes; if you wish to find me again, I would recommend paying attention to your TVs come the end of the summer to watch the Vytal Tournament, where you may see me fight and perform in front of millions worldwide, while you will be watching in whatever disgusting dive bar you've found your sorry lives have led you to, so you may drink and lose yourselves in your own misery and broken dreams. Oh, and, _next time_ you think it's a good idea to challenge a huntsman to a fight, please do. I eagerly look forwards to seeing your faces on the evening news,"

The street went dead silent as he recovered his box of donuts, waving to the teens happily. " _Hasta siempre_ , you wastes of air!"

The teens stood, looking to each other in various states of hurt, confusion, and anger as he casually turned to walk away, not giving them a second thought, idly munching on a donut as he went.

* * *

Daria stared out of the bay window that dominated the far side of the room, watching the stars begin to twinkle against the rapidly darkening sky. She pulled her Scroll up, looking at the irritated picture of Rainier emblazoned on its screen. She let out a sigh as she called him-

And immediately went to his voice message system, beeping obnoxiously. She didn't bother leaving a message, hanging up and throwing her Scroll to the other side of her bed, flopping backwards with a sigh.

Nash looked up to her from his position on the floor, legs propped onto his own bed, loudly blaring Scroll held in his hands. "Wha's up, D?"

She looked down to him for a moment, before shaking her head. "…Don't worry about it."

"Mama always said that if a girl said not to worry about it, don't believe her… she also said that girls are evil and crazy, but y'know." He said, sliding casually from his perch to lie completely on the floor.

The boy brought a smile to Daria's face, bringing her to push herself up into a sitting position, staring out at the remaining members of her team, both tuned in towards her. "…I don't know, it's just Rainier, I guess."

"Ah, yeah, he's great."

"No, I don't think he really is."

"Never mind, I hate 'im."

"Nash- work with me here."

"Kay."

She sighed again. "…It's just, I don't know what he's about. There are times I think he hates me, and then there are times when he seems like he's genuinely having a good time with us. Like- I haven't heard from him since, like, lunch, and now I think his phone's just straight up off. I don't get him."

"Well…" Gail said, tapping her pen nervously on the desk in front of her. "…Maybe he's just… confused."

"Yeah, but it's been weeks. I'm- I really think I'm at the end of my rope. No offense to you guys, but we really need him. I don't know what I'm doing! I'm surprised I even got into this school. He just… doesn't seem like he wants anything to do with us."

The archer was silent for a moment, shoring up her confidence to turn towards her leader, swallowing hard. "…He just… I don't… think he came to Beacon to- to be part of a team. I… think we… I don't know, took him by sur…prise?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I…" She trailed off, face beet red at the dual gazes of her teammates locked onto her. "…He- he, um… he comes from a different place from the rest of us. He… he just… needs some time to get used to us, I think. M-maybe, him… taking a day away from us is a- a good thing. Give him time to process, maybe? He's a… product of his past, like we all are. He's just… he's still just finding his place here."

Daria stared at her teammate for a long moment, before nodding solemnly. "…Alright. Or maybe we need to have a talk with him."

"A… talk?"

"A talk!" Nash agreed, throwing his arms in the air.

"A serious talk. Put our foot down, y'know? Give him an ultimatum."

Gail said nothing else, gaze casting back to the ground unsurely, before turning back to her work quietly.

Her leader watched her for a moment before reclining in her seat, hands folded behind her head. "I think a part of me just really wants to like him."

"Ooh," Nash cooed, turning onto his belly, hands holding his head up. "Do you like-like him?"

"Nash, no, stop," Daria muttered sourly. "If he flirts with me one more time, I think I'm gonna throw up."

"That sounds like like-like."

"Nash. Please. I will hurt you."

"Kay."

Daria continued to stare off into space, resignation filling her form. "…We're getting him on this team. One way or another."

* * *

Rainier sighed as he continued onwards, box of donuts still tucked under his arm, the sun setting behind him bathing the city streets in a dim, orange glow, the streetlights beginning to come to life. He stared down at his box of pastries for a moment, chewing thoughtfully. He shook his head, picking up his pace again. "You don't need it, you don't need it."

"- _Nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. Back to you, Lisa_. " A TV droned from a store-front window as the faunus marched down the street.

" _Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this week's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. This once peaceful…_ "

Rainier came to a stop, staring in at the TV before him, the logo of an angry, red wolf's head emblazoned on its screen, three claw marks tearing through the red. His grip tightened around the box under his arm, teeth clenching together tightly, eyes going dark with fury, his body beginning to tremble, breath coming faster and faster, a snarl coming across his face.

As quickly as he entered his trance, he broke from it with a hiss of pain, bringing his free hand up, unclenching the white-knuckled fist; blood began to pool in his palm from where his nails had begun to dig into his flesh. He winced as he shook the pain away, wiping the blood onto the dark fabric of his shirt, gaze turning back to the TV, a snapshot of a crowd of faunus on its screen, signs raised high in righteous anger.

He let out a huff as he turned to continue on his way, putting the screen behind him, shaking his head with a quiet, nearly imperceptible groan. He turned to the setting sun behind him, staring at the rapidly bluing and darkening horizon. The faunus nodded in resignation, turning into the café to his side.

The man keeping the counter looked up from the countertop, wiping it down with a towel and glass cleaner. "Hey, we're just about closed."

"Uh- may I just get a coffee? I'm… looking forwards to a long night, and I'd sincerely, sincerely appreciate it." Rainier cut in, holding a hand up pleadingly to the man.

He stared back at the faunus for a moment, turning to look at the half-cleaned mess that was the back counter for a longer moment- and sighed, head falling. "…Alright, alright. What can I get you?"

"Ah, _gracias, gracias_ , Mr…" Rainier cocked his head to the side to read the man's nametag. "Beau. Ah, I will take a cinnamon dolce latte, thank you, kindly."

Beau turned with a nod, beginning the process of brewing the faunus' drink, the small shop descending into patient silence, the barista humming quietly to himself as he went, the lights above buzzing calmly. After a moment, Beau slowed thoughtfully, turning over his shoulder. "You're Vacuoan?"

"Ah, yes, I am. How did you know?"

"Ha, my parents were Vacuoan."

"Ha indeed. Tis a small world."

"Yeah it is. Recognized your accent, you're from out west then?"

"Coastline, yes."

"My mama was from just outside Tear's Fall."

"I happen to be from Tear's Fall!"

"Really is a small world."

"Indeed!"

Beau nodded, shaking a can of whipped cream. "Yeah, we had another Vacuoan come in just earlier today," He turned towards Rainier with a cocked expression. "I think he mentioned he'd just arrived for the Festival."

"Fascinating, it seems that's on everyone's mind."

"Uh huh. Yeah, a faunus, he was, he and his girlfriend. Tan like you, with a monkey tail. You know him?"

That piqued Rainier's interest, the wolf leaning forward. "Unfortunately, no, I don't attend Shade Academy. Two faunus, you said?"

"Yeah- think she was his girlfriend, at least. They sure bickered like an old married couple, when she even managed to talk."

"Well, my- our homeland, I suppose, is rather renowned for our equality. Everyone suffers equally."

Beau laughed, finishing the last touches on Rainier's drink. "She wasn't tan like you two, though, more of a Mistral or Vale complexion. I didn't really pry, it's not polite. Not my business, anyways."

The faunus froze, eyebrows furrowing. "…So she wasn't here from Vacuo, you assume?"

"Again, I don't really ask."

"…Dark hair?"

"Long, dark, yeah. Golden eyes I think, not as pale as yours. Dressed dark. You know her?"

"… _Son of a bitch_. I've been looking for that girl all day."

Beau crossed over with the latte. "Really? What for, if you don't mind?"

"She's… been acting strangely. Simply attempting to track her down. Do you know where she would have gone?"

"She and the other guy mentioned something about the docks tonight, some big Dust shipment coming in, or something. Dunno, wasn't really paying attention. Something about the White Fang, I think."

"… _Brilliant_."

"That was my thought. Here you are, sir." He handed the drink over, getting a nod from Rainier as he placed a stack of bills down.

"Plus a tip, for staying open late for a poor faunus; as well as being the most helpful man I have met in some time. Have yourself a beautiful night, you saint of a man."

"Well. Thanks. You too."

Rainier took his drink and donuts, turning to leave with a baffled expression, pushing the door open with his foot, stepping out into the cool night air.

"…Ha. Son of a bitch."

He turned to head towards the city's portside, muttering to himself in shock as he went.

"Hey, wolf!"

Rainier came to a stop, gaze slowly rising from the concrete slabs below, face falling in unimpressment. He turned on his heel with a cocked eyebrow- and immediately brightened with a surprised smile. "Zaffre!"

The swordsman raised his arms as he marched forwards to catch up with the faunus. "What are you doing out here this late?"

"Taking care of a few things, my friend- the same goes to you!"

"Just needed to, uh… clear my head. Been a long day. Whatcha got there?"

Rainier looked down at his food, setting his cup down onto the ground. " _Donas_ , my friend. Care for one?" He pulled one out and offered it to Lance with a raised eyebrow.

Lance stared back for a long, flat moment. He gestured down at his bared chest; eyebrows raised. "Dude. Look at me. You really think I eat carbs?"

The faunus' hand didn't drop, expression not wavering in the slightest, the two huntsmen coming to a standstill.

The swordsman looked between his friend and the pastry before him repeatedly. His hand lashed out to rip the donut free from Rainier's grasp, taking a bite out of it angrily, staring hard at the Vacuoan. He waved the confection at the faunus. "This is really friggin' good."

"I know. I will have to revisit that shop before too long. Anyways, while we are both here on a lonely Saturday night-"

"-I appreciate it, man, but I don't swing that way." Lance said between bites.

"How _unfortunate_ ," Rainier muttered dryly. "No, I was going to ask if you wished to go investigating with me?"

"That's uh… I've got a lot of questions."

"I've been on the search for Blake bloody Belladonna all day, and I believe I have a lead. For whatever reason, she appears to have gone to the docks. Perhaps the White Fang will be there, yes? Perhaps we'll get to fight them, yes? What do you say, my friend?"

"Man, you had me at White Fang."

"Excellent. Shall we?"

"After you, wolf."

Rainier dipped low to scoop up his drink as the duo began to make their way towards the coastline. The sound of a ship's foghorn cut through the night air, echoing across the buildings ominously, the sound of several bullhead rotors chopping noisily joining it, dark shapes racing towards the docks beyond.

The two huntsmen slowed to a stop, exchanging a look, silently confirming each other's concerns.

Without a beat of hesitation, they took off running, disappearing towards the hive of activity beginning to build in the shipyard.


	10. Chapter 9: Best Served Cold

Chapter 9: Best Served Cold

* * *

"Did I miss anything?"

Blake turned over her shoulder with a small sigh, before returning her gaze forwards. "Not really. They've unloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just standing there."

"…Cool." There was a shifting of fabric beside her before her companion plopped down next to the prone huntress; he was sun-tanned, the hair on his head ruffled and gold, matching the monkey-like tail twisting behind him, otherwise dressed casually, jeans rolled up, his collared shirt unbuttoned. He offered her an apple, several bundled in his arms. "I stole us some food."

She glared at him questioningly. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

Her eyes narrowed in warning. " _Sun_."

"Alright, too soon."

A spotlight washed over the shipyard down below, illuminating the otherwise dark docks, several well-dressed men mingling about, looking up as a dual-rotor bullhead began to descend, wind whipping up around the individuals already below, the duo far enough away from the operations to remain incognito.

The bay door on the ship slid to the side, more men and woman climbing out, marching towards the crates beyond; all dressed in the white, silver and black of the White Fang.

"Oh no." Blake whispered, slumping in her spot, gold gaze softening.

"Is that them?"

"Yes… that's them."

One of the faunus below swung his arm out in a command, others appearing with tow cables, moving towards the crates beyond, beginning the process of hooking the shipping containers to the bullheads.

"You really didn't think it was them, did you?"

"…No. I think I knew deep down, but… I just didn't want to be right…" She trailed off for a moment, then opened her mouth to continue-

"Well, well, _well_. What have we _here_?"

Both huntsmen jolted, Sun leaping to his feet, nunchaku in hand, Blake turning onto her back, gun raised towards the opposite side of the building.

Rainier stood with a coy expression, eyebrow cocked- his coffee and donuts still held comfortably in hand.

"Rainier?!" Blake asked in shock, lowering her weapon.

"You know this guy?" Sun asked, looking between the two of them in confusion. "He part of the White Fang?"

"What? No, no- he goes to Beacon."

"Indeed I do! And you must be the Vacuoan that lovely barista mentioned," Rainier said, marching forwards casually to join the duo at the edge of the rooftop. He extended the box of pastries to the duo. "Donuts?"

"Don't mind if I do!" The monkey said, eagerly reaching in to snatch one.

Blake waved him off, scooting into a sitting position, still in shock. "How did you find us?"

"Oh. Yes," Rainier muttered sourly. "I've been looking for you all bloody day, Miss Belladonna. Your friends are worried sick."

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't… mean to worry anyone, I just-"

"-Now, now, it's a little too late to apologize. My duty is done. Ah, where are my manners!" He turned to Sun, dropping his box, dipping low in a curtsy. "My name is Rainier Platina of Vacuo, formerly of Oasis Academy, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf and formerly a well renowned bachelor of Tear's Fall," He took a sip of his coffee. "And you are?"

The other faunus stared at him blankly in pure shock for a moment, mouth gaping. "…You're a Platina?!" He turned down to Blake. "You know a _Platina_?!"

"I-" She began.

"That's so awesome! I've always wanted to visit Tear's Fall!" He took Rainier's hand, shaking it excitedly. "Sun Wukong. Wow. This is the coolest! I've heard so much about your brother- and your sister! I'm shaking your hand way too long; this is getting awkward. What are you doing here? Platinas never leave Vacuo!"

Rainier pulled away from his fellow Vacuoan, placing his drink down onto the rooftop. "I've asked myself the same question repeatedly over the course of the last few weeks. Currently finding myself," He peeked over the edge of the building, looking down to the hubbub of activity down below. "May I ask why you two lovely individuals are currently staking out on a beautiful Saturday night? It's hardly romantic, yes?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "We got a lead on the people who have been raiding the Dust shops and vendors… looks like our lead paid off."

"…And why were you looking for a lead on the people who have been raiding the Dust shops and vendors?"

"It's… we… we found out that that Torchwick guy has been leading these… we also heard that the White Fang were involved. I didn't want to think so, but… here we are."

The Vacuoan began to frown in suspicion, before suddenly stiffening, his eyes brightening like fire. A grin slowly claimed his face, tilting almost manically.

" _Fantastic_."

"Rainier-"

The trio came to another stop as a loud gasp cut through the air, their gazes yet again turning around.

There was a moment of silence before a hand dramatically swung into view, grasping onto the edge of the roof. Lance let out a groan as he pushed himself up and onto the building, rolling away from the edge, his head flopping down as he came to a stop, the swordsman laying for a beat of silence. His head turned towards the trio across from him, face pulled in disbelief. "How the hell did you guys get up here so quickly?"

The three huntsmen shared looks before Sun shrugged. "I dunno? I think we're just lighter than you are."

"Ah… yeah… you a ninja too? Yeah. That's cool. You guys multiply like rabbits," He pushed himself up, arcing his back with a series of satisfying pops. "Some of us gotta be heavy hitters."

Rainier gestured between the two blondes. "Lance Zaffre, Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong, Lance Zaffre."

"Yeah," The swordsman said, joining them at the edge of the building. "Nice to meet you."

"Hey, you too, man. Nice sword."

"Yeah, yeah. What am I looking at here?"

Rainier gestured broadly out towards the shipyard. "Criminals and terrorists. I'm very much looking forwards to this next part."

Blake shook her head. "I don't want to have to fight if we don't have to. There has to be some sort of explanation for this."

"Hey! What's the hold up?! We're not exactly the most inconspicuous buncha thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try and pick up the pace, huh?!" Roman Torchwick barked as he marched out of one of the bullheads, waving his cane irritatedly. The White Fang around him gave him sour looks, but did as he requested, picking up the speed of their operations.

Blake's face fell in disbelief. "This isn't right. The Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."

"…You know quite a bit about them, then?" Rainier asked, voice lowering, eyes narrowing.

She didn't respond for a moment, head bowed as she rose to her feet. She flipped her gun back into its default katana-like shape. "…Enough."

"Hey!" Sun hissed. "What are you doing?!"

She looked to him- and then dropped off the side of the roof, disappearing in a blur of shadow.

The trio jolted in surprise, searching for the vanished huntress in the darkness below.

"What is her deal!" Sun called, throwing his hands in the air.

"I dunno," Lance said, stepping up to crouch on the lip of the building. "But I like her a whole lot more than I did five minutes ago."

"I can never get a read on her."

Rainier stared off into the shipyard, eyes still narrowed, muttering. "…My thoughts exactly."

There was a whir of movement in the spotlight bathed docks as another shadow rushed through the light, coming to a stop behind Roman. Blake congealed, katana raised to his throat, the White Fang and gangsters spinning in their spots, guns and weapons raised to the huntress.

The combatants froze for a moment in a stand-off, Blake saying something to the men and women around her.

Boom- Roman fired his cane at their feet, a not inconsiderable explosion going off, separating the two, a column of smoke rising into the air.

"That's our cue!" Sun yelled as he leapt from the rooftop, another golden copy of himself appearing in the air, hands gripping before the copy hurled him away from the building, flying towards the shipyard.

Rainier and Lance met eyes- and dual pairs of grins spread across their faces.  
"I'll be counting." The swordsman said, drawing his cannon, turning to aim it away from the docks.

"Oh, I'm not worried."

"Compare scores at the end?"

"Absolutely. Good luck."

Rainier leapt, his cannon firing in conjunction with Lance's own, the two huntsmen hurtling towards the ensuing battle swiftly, the wind rushing past them- as two more bullheads rushed into the battlefield, making haste to land, the distant sounds of more filling the night air, Roman firing his cane after Blake haphazardly, explosions lighting up the shipyard, debris flying through the air.

Lance landed first, boots sliding across the paved ground, greatsword immediately swinging wide, catching two mobsters in the midsections, hurling them into the air to crash into an elevated crate, massive dents appearing in the red metal, the massive Schnee Dust Company logo emblazoned on the side distorting with the impact.

Rainier only hit the ground for a moment, Wolf's Claws firing to send him speeding away from his friend- directly towards Roman, the mob boss holding his cane high, aimed directly at the distracted Sun.

The faunus lashed out for the gangster's face, Roman quickly bringing his cane down onto the huntsman's leg, sending him back down to the asphalt below. Rainier didn't waste time striking out again, spinning low in an attempt to kick Roman's legs out from under him.

The mob boss leapt the attack, his cane raised, and fired, a small missile colliding with the huntsman, an explosion sending both combatants flying from each other; Roman landing jovially in a clipped march, a smirk sent Rainier's way as he landed more roughly, claws and hands digging into the ground to slow his momentum with a shower of sparks.

"Oh, I don't like you." The faunus growled under his breath.

"He's mine!" Blake spat, a dart of shadows shooting from behind one of the crates towards the mob boss, beginning to blur around him with dual blades, trying in vain to land a hit on the well-trained criminal.

Rainier took a step to join her, before a yell called from his side, the butt of a gun nearly crashing into his head before he quickly side-stepped. The White Fang over-extended, immediately meeting the silver of Wolf's Claws, head whiplashing from the impact.

The Vacuoan struck out again, sweeping the criminal's feet out from under him, then lashed out with a brutal kick to the side of the Fang's head, a cannon shot sending the criminal pinwheeling away, crashing against the pavement hard.

Rainier's grin returned to his face, cocking his head to the side with a satisfying crunch. "Now this… is more like it." He rushed forwards into the fray wildly, like a silver blur, kicking the downed faunus hard as he went, another shot sending him flying through the air.

Lance ducked low at the last moment, narrowly missing the flying body, sending his momentary companion an irritated glance- the faunus, though, had already moved on in a flurry of violence, tearing through the ranks of the White Fang with glee, almost entirely ignoring the other gangsters around them.

The swordsman rolled his eyes as his greatsword buried itself into the pavement, the sound of something crashing into its steel ringing out around him. He lashed out in a punch, still clutching the handle of the sword, again bashing the criminal's face against Iron Maw. He twirled with a swift motion, tearing it free from the ground, the blade swinging out in a wide arc, the flat of the greatsword impacting into the gangster's face, sending him hurtling away.

Lance took off at a jog into the fray, sword dragging through the asphalt. A group of White Fang turned to him as he charged towards them, readying for combat. With a grunt, he slashed upwards with Iron Maw, splitting the small group, dodging as one took a swing at him. He lashed out with an elbow to the faunus' nose, sending him reeling backwards, before bringing his blade back down, crushing another of the criminals under its considerable size, the Fang sent face first into the ground. The swordsman reached a hand up as the others lunged towards him, weapons raised.

With a squeeze of his fist, a blue explosion went up around him, the group going flying away from him, with the exception of the faunus still under the full weight of Iron Maw. Lance stepped back, scooping out with his blade to lift the Fang into the air, precariously balancing the groaning body on his sword- and then swung downwards, slamming him into the pavement below with enough force to make him bounce back into the air.

The huntsman pivoted quickly, the flat of his blade impacting against the faunus to send him flying. He didn't get a moment to breathe, as a flurry of gunshots filled the air, his gaze swiftly turning towards Blake and Sun, the duo pushing Roman back with a flurry of offense; Sun and Roman both near blurs of movement, the faunus' nunchucks twirling through the air, gunshot after gunshot following his movements; Roman's cane rapidly spinning and striking out, blocking each shot masterfully-

Until he over extended, Blake leaping over her companion's body to slice across his chest with her katana, sending the mob boss tumbling backwards, stumbling to his feet angrily.

His cane raised to the huntsman; and then rose higher, a missile flying through the air towards an elevated container held by a crane. The shot found its mark, ripping through the heavy equipment and coil, sending the crate crashing down towards the battlefield, Blake and Sun narrowly dodging away from it.  
Sun, though, crashed hard in front of Roman, his gaze rising too slowly as the mob boss aimed his cane down towards the faunus, his eyes widening.

A cannon shot beat the criminal to the punch, a blue explosion sending him hurtling backwards. Sun turned towards Lance; the swordsman's gun held aloft with a satisfied grin.

"Hey, thanks!"

"Don't- dude, heads!"

Sun spun on his back as a trio of White Fang rushed towards him, blades arcing down; his legs lashed out to trip them up before they could make impact, the faunus kipping back up to his feet, turning back towards Roman- and ate a solid cane strike to the head, the impact sending him flying away.

The mob boss grit his teeth together with a growl of frustration, turning towards Lance- before his eye widened at the sight of Iron Maw hurtling towards his head, a flash of the huntsman's coat filling his vision as narrowly ducking the blade.

The swordsman grinned as he pushed off of his sword, stalling his momentum in the air. He twirled, the massive edge of the blade carving down towards Roman, missing as he rolled away, popping back up to his feet quickly.

The combatants wasted no time rushing towards each other, Lance lashing out with a wide, wild swing, the gangster dodging backwards before going on the offensive, a lightning-fast flurry of strikes arcing out towards the huntsman, Iron Maw's massive width working overtime to block the overwhelming offense, the blonde slowly being pushed back with a grimace.

"Why is everyone so gods damned fast!" Lance hissed from behind his sword.

"Maybe you're just so gods damned slow, kid!" Roman barked back, his strikes gaining intensity, frustration and anger slowly claiming his face.

The mob boss' gaze shifted past his opponent, to the rapidly approaching shipping crate behind him, grin reappearing as he raised his cane high.  
Faster than he could pull the trigger, a silver blur shot from the side, crashing into the cane, sending the missile flying wide. Rainier hit the ground sliding, throwing the groaning White Fang in his grasp at Roman, the gangster immediately bashing his henchman into the pavement with his cane.

The two huntsmen quickly exchanged glances, Lance lashing out with Iron Maw widely, again missing as Roman backstepped- this time, however, Rainier planted a foot onto the greatsword, leaping up with a knee strike to the mob boss' face, sending him stumbling back.

The swordsman leapt over his companion, blade raised high, bringing its full weight crashing down towards Roman, catching him on the back of the head on its way to the pavement below, the collision throwing debris into the air.

Rainier was beside the duo in a heartbeat, Wolf's Claws kicking Iron Maw back up into the air, the back of the sword bashing under the mob boss' chin, lifting his head back into the air, another well-placed side kick finding the same spot as the greatsword, a cannon shot sending Roman hurtling away.

Rainier and Lance stood vigilantly, watching as the mob boss rolled across the asphalt before popping back up to his feet, holding his chin with a grimace. The swordsman himself shook his free arm out, wincing.

"That dude hits hard." He muttered.

The Vacuoan turned to him. "Well, perhaps don't let him hit you. Also, I'm at six."

"…Ha, nine!"

"Shall we, then?"

Roman glared at the duo, his cane raising again. "I think I've just about had it up to here with you brats getting involved in my business!"

"Well, then, perhaps it's time to take up a new business!" Rainier called back, the two huntsmen slowly beginning to march towards him, slinking away from each other cautiously, watching the mob boss' every move.

"That's…" Roman trailed off, a grin finding its way to his face. He relaxed his form, hands in the air. "I believe this is where our dance ends, boys,"

The sound of metal hitting metal loudly echoed out over the shipyard, the huntsmen turning to watch the shipping container behind them careening wildly towards them, bashing both across their torsos, sending them crashing down as it continued to rush across the battlefield, narrowly missing Roman as he leapt into the air to land atop it.

"It took you long enough, Quinn!" He barked angrily.

The two downed combatants groaned as they pushed themselves to their feet, turning to where the crate had formerly been-

A massive figure marched through the rubble, craning his neck to the side with a crunch, dressed in the White Fang's white and black, his face covered in an ornate white grimm-like mask, red designs swirling over it, his hair wild and dark, a lion's tail flicking out behind him.

He lifted his oversized hammer in one hand, swinging it loosely and with ease, chuckling lowly. "I get paid by the hour, Torchwick."

"Well- kill these two, I'm going to go deal with the other brats. Make it quick, chop chop!" The mob boss called as he dropped to the ground, casually marching off towards the rest of the melee beyond, Blake and Sun still fighting off the White Fang and gangsters in the distance.

The trio stared down uneasily, Lance and Rainier exchanging glances, Quinn continuing to calmly walk towards them, hammer slung over his shoulder.

"I don't suppose we could just go get some drinks instead?" Lance asked as he and Rainier began to split again, the hulking faunus none too concerned as the huntsmen began to flank him.

"Heh. Not gonna happen. Orders are orders. I'll pour one out for you tonight, though. How's that sound?" Quinn said huskily, swinging his hammer as he looked between the two of them.

"I'll pass, thanks."

"'Nough talk!" the White Fang called. "Time to die."


	11. Chapter 10: This Will Be the Day

Chapter 10: This Will Be the Day

* * *

Oracle kicked her boots off as she flopped down onto her bed, groaning as she stretched, wincing at the strain the movement brought.

Shinai nodded to her as he sat down cross legged onto the ground, sword laid across his lap. "The pain will fade."

"Yeah, yeah," She muttered. "It's just a buncha stretches! How the hell does it hurt that bad?!"

"Your body isn't used to moving like that. It will improve in time."

"I better get some _killer_ abs from this, or I'm gonna be so mad, hon,"

The samurai gave a single, quiet scoff of a chuckle, eyes closing, his breathing slowing as he centered himself, hands resting onto his blade.

Oracle watched him settle in for a moment, eyes glancing over his rarely exposed arms, the inklings of a satisfied smile crossing her face, before she dragged her gaze away, resting on Ulysses' sat at the desk, earbuds blaring heavy metal, busily working on some paper or another-

Then her attention shifted to the empty, neatly folded bed sheets of Lance's cot, her grin fading. She achingly climbed to her feet, dragging herself over to his corner of the room, her sight locked onto a silver object gleaming on his pillow. She picked it up, and looked it over; a sizable, pristine, silver patch, a knight chess piece emblazoned on a dark field.

" _Legion XXII_ ," She muttered, reading the silver script. "Hey, Kyani, you know where Zaffre is?"

Shinai sat for a moment before opening his eyes with a slow exhalation of breath, gaze finding his partner. "No."

"…Ulysses? Ebony!" The giant pulled an earbud free, looking over his shoulder angrily at the gunslinger. "You seen the blondie?"

"…No." He replaced the bud, returning to his work silently.

She sighed as she looked at the patch again, tossing it back onto his bed. "I'm sure he's fine. Probably snuck out to some poor girl's dorm again, that degen."

* * *

Lance and Rainier crashed hard into the rubble, rolling several meters further with the impact. They laid still for a moment, face pulled into mirror grimaces, Lance shifting to sit on his haunches, Rainier pushing himself up onto his elbows, both huntsmen groaning in pain, watching across the battlefield as Quinn continued to march casually towards them, craning his head to the side, idly tossing his hammer into the air.

The swordsman leaned his head towards the faunus. "…After you."

Rainier gave him a quick look. "No, no, after you, I insist."

"Really, I don't mind."

"Please, it would be my pleasure."

"Honestly, you first, I won't be mad."

"It would be rude to not allow you to take the lead on this."

"Hey, you're a guest in my kingdom, I'll let you go, really."

The huntsmen latched onto each other, wincing as they helped each other to their feet, Rainier brushing the dust off of his track suit. "…Ro-sham-bo?"

"You mean rock-paper-scissors?"

"Or boulder-parchment-shears, your choice, truly."

"On three or on shoot?"

"Shoot, of course."

The duo turned towards each other, getting in sync as they pounded their fists into their hands once, twice-

There was a whir of movement as the warhammer flew through the air between the huntsmen, its bladed front cleaving through the shipping container behind them, the duo freezing in mid motion, blue eyes meeting gold. The hammer whirred as it ripped itself free, hurtling back towards its owner.

"Fine, fine!" Lance said, grabbing his sword off of the ground.

Rainier turned with him to face the brute continuing his unimpressed march, stretching his legs out. "Once more, with feeling."

He dashed towards Quinn, a blue cannon shot from Lance following behind him, zooming towards the faunus beyond. The lion chuckled as Rainier rounded him, a hard kick sent towards his side, making impact with a hefty thud, the blue shot going off on the ground opposite the huntsman, a blue explosion enveloping the White Fang-

His arm lashed out to latch onto Rainier's leg, pivoting to hurl him away, shrugging both attacks like they were nothing, the smaller faunus tossed through the air with ease.

Lance replaced his friend without hesitation, Iron Maw tearing through the space between him and Quinn- the criminal's hammer rose quickly, though, parrying the blade high into the air, the massive head of the maul coming back down to smash into the swordsman, the gargantuan blade of the sword barely levelling out in time to shield its wielder from the blow-

The collision rocketed through the huntsman, his boots sinking several inches into the asphalt below. His eyes widened as he looked down to his feet in shock. "What the _actual_ -!" He began, before Quinn struck out again, nearly taking Lance's feet out from under him before he leapt above the swing, both bruiser's lashing out in unison, Iron Maw coming to rest at the base of the hammer's head, the combatants locked into a test of strength.

The dark eyeholes of the White Fang's mask bore down into Lance's own, the much larger faunus beginning to push his opponent down into the pavement, chuckling.

The blur that heralded Rainier crashed into the side of Quinn's head, sending him stumbling a short few feet away, hand flying towards the wound with a surprised growl. The smaller faunus wasted no time, hitting the ground in a roll, popping back up into the air with a kick to the criminal's chin, a cannon shot sending his head whiplashing backwards.

The lion's hand lashed out to snatch Rainier out of the air, clutching his throat tightly- he wasn't given a chance to capitalize, as Iron Maw swung down onto his arm, sending it down to the pavement below, his grip broken. The wolf struck out with a kick to his opponent's kneecap, a shot ringing out, the limb leaving the ground, teetering as he attempted to keep his balance.

Lance quickly rose, his head crashing into Quinn's own, the faunus stumbling backwards, his balance nearly lost for a moment- he recovered quickly, a wild swing of his hammer arcing towards Rainier, missing as he ducked it; the blow instead impacting into the swordsman's hip, taking him off of his feet, eyes going wide, flipping head over heel.

Rainier reached out without a second thought, hands gripping onto Iron Maw's handle, feet digging into the debris below, pivoting hard with a yell of effort, the blade colliding solidly with Quinn's neck, sending him stumbling away, wheeling wildly.

"Why is your sword so bloody heavy?!" Rainier barked, turning towards his companion.

Lance rolled to his feet. " _Why did you pick it up?!"_

_"Because it was the only thing in range!"_

_"_ _Look at it, of course it's_ -"

The conversation cut short as the hammer crashed hard into the wolf, ripping him from the ground, disappearing across the shipyard, wrapped around the weapon's head. Lance watched him go before dashing forwards towards his fallen sword.

Quinn growled as he marched to beat him there- a step too slow as the swordsman dropped into a slide, swooping the massive blade up, twisting as he did so; when the faunus reached him, he stared down the barrel of the glowing cannon, Lance flashing him a bright grin.

With a hefty boom, the duo went flying apart, the swordsman tumbling away wildly, Quinn bouncing hard against the asphalt before popping back to his feet, heavy boots digging into the pavement, cracks spider webbing across his mask, a growl escaping his throat. He lifted his hand up, his glove glowing purple, whirring with energy.

Rainier rolled to a stop, looking between the hammer beside him and its owner across the battlefield, a satisfied grin claiming his face, latching onto the weapon tightly.

Both hammer and huntsman went flying back across the shipyard, racing towards the White Fang; Quinn's attention turned from the recovering Lance to his returning weapon a moment too late, Rainier leaping from the hammer to crash Wolf's Claws into the criminal's face with ridiculous speed, taking him off of his feet, crashing down hard into the ground.

The faunus landed with a smooth roll, swiftly turning to dash back into the fight. Quinn's hand found its hammer before the huntsman could reach him, swinging up with a furious roar- Rainier nimbly leapt above the arc of the swing, feet touching down onto hammer's head for a split second, vaulting off further towards a suspended shipping crate above, latching onto it tightly, giving the Fang a cheeky grin as he recovered back to his feet.

Quinn let out another frustrated yell, moving to hurl his hammer towards the suspended faunus.

Before he could, Iron Maw flew through the air, colliding hard with the Fang's head, bouncing with the force of the blow; Lance was there in a heartbeat, kicking out at the wide blade of the greatsword, sending it crashing right back into the criminal's face.

The swordsman snatched his blade from the air, bringing it back down shorthand onto the back of Quinn's head, immediately leaping with a flip, looking to repeat the blow. Instead, the faunus brought his hammer up with a vicious swing, catching the huntsman out of the air, the force of the impact sending him flying up towards the crate above.

Rainier's cannon sent him careening back down towards the ground, his hand snatching the back of Lance's jacket as they met, the huntsmen twirling before the faunus released, sending the cackling swordsman hurtling back into Quinn, the Fang's quick reflexes saving him as he lifted his hammer, blocking the mighty sword swing with the haft of the weapon, both great instruments falling back down to the asphalt.

The wolf joined his friend in a moment, the back of his Claws meeting the back of Quinn's head, crumpling the criminal down to his knees and forehead. Both huntsmen lashed out with immediate, dual strikes; and instead met the lion's rising body hard, both massive forearms crashing into either combatants, stopping their momentum in their tracks.

He roared as he began wildly swinging out with his hammer, sending first the swordsman, then the faunus flying from him, their forms flying across the shipyard, tumbling meters further as they hit the asphalt, Rainier rolling to his feet before falling to a knee, wincing, Lance simply falling onto his back, sliding motionlessly.

The wolf looked to his friend. "Lance, this isn't working."

The swordsman simply gave him a thumbs up, not moving for a moment otherwise, before pushing himself up into a sitting position, face flat and thoroughly unexcited. "…Yeah, thanks, I noticed."

"Do you have a suggestion?"

"…I was gonna say hit him harder-"

"Zaffre-"

" _Together_?"

"You two better be making peace with your gods!" Quinn barked, storming towards them. "Because when I'm finished with you, you're gonna have to meet them!"

Rainier sighed. "He watches far too much TV."

"Alright," Lance muttered as they rose to their feet, staring the faunus down.

"Let's get to it then."

"Please. You first."

The swordsman rolled his eyes, readying his blade at his side. "Whatever, I'm over all this."

The duo began to march to meet their opponent, slowly picking up speed-

"Hey!"

All three combatants froze in their tracks, confusion visible on the two huntsmen's faces, exchanging glances.

"That sounds exactly like-" Lance began.

Their gazes shot to the nearby buildings, eyes narrowing to try and pinpoint the source of the voice through the dark.

"Red!" Roman called from somewhere else on the battlefield. "Isn't it a little past your bedtime?!"

"Ruby, yes." Rainier muttered, staring at the blot of red perched onto the roof's edge, her Crescent Rose scythe held readily at her side.

Another figure walked forwards to meet the huntress at the edge of the building; a girl their age, ginger hair curly, a pink bow atop her head, dressed in a green, short dress, boots and gloves black. "Ruby, are these people you friends?"

"Penny, get-" The leader of RWBY began.

Roman quickly took the opportunity to attack, a missile flying from the shipyard towards them, crashing into Ruby, the girl flying from view.

"Don't worry!" The other huntress called sternly, her eyes narrowing, none too worried about her friend, gaze turning back to the momentarily halted battle below. "I'm combat ready!" A sword rested itself from her backpack, slowly floating into the air-

And proceeded to split into a dozen more blades, gleaming in the spotlight for a moment before she leapt from the rooftop, rubble following her down from the force of her movement.

The girl came crashing down towards the battlefield, White Fang and gangsters rushing towards her as she straightened to her full height calmly; as quickly as they began to reach her, she swept her arms out, the blades flying with her movements, sweeping brutally across the men and women rushing towards her, ripping them off of their feet to send them hurtling away, the swords tearing through the ranks of the criminals with ease.

Lance and Rainier's gazes slowly fell to meet each other's, stupefied. The swordsman shrugged. "I'm not gonna complain if you don't."

The faunus moved to retort, when Quinn's hammer came flying towards them, nearly impacting with Rainier before he leapt over it, letting it fall behind him. The huntress and her single-handed decimation of the criminals fading from their minds.

Rainier dove to the side as the White Fang ripped his hammer back towards himself, the huntsmen resuming their charge to meet him. He swung out widely at the wolf as the smaller faunus reached him, missing as he fell into a slide beneath the attack, Lance a step behind him, parrying the hammer head further away from the hulking faunus, forcing him to overextend, momentarily pulled off balance.

The Vacuoan pushed off of the ground, using the haft of the warhammer to further propel himself upwards and to the side, Wolf's Claws colliding with the side of his head, a cannon shot ringing out through the night.

Lance flipped his grip smoothly, lashing out with a short punch, the blade's pommel bashing into the Fang's mask, the ivory shattering with the blow, the brute stumbling a few feet back. Rainier spun to his feet, using his momentum to strike back out with another high kick, Claws hooking around the brute's head to again crash into his cheek, sending him stumbling away from the duo.

Quinn roared, muscles flexing as he swung hard downward, splitting the huntsmen apart as they quickly scrambled out of range of the attack, the impact shattering the pavement below in a few meter radius, the duo momentarily losing their footing. He swung out wide again, the head of the hammer passing millimeters in front of Rainier's face before crashing into Iron Maw's blade. Lance twisted his greatsword, bringing the hammer closer to him, pushing it down into the rubble once again.

The wolf dashed back into the fray, leaping to bring both feet down onto Quinn's hands in a vicious double stomp; and was gratified with both a shout of pain from the criminal, and the sound of metal crunching inwards, his glove sparking with electricity, its purple lights going dim.

Rainier stared down at his handiwork for a moment, before giving the Fang a giddy grin.

"Ha!" Lance barked out victoriously.

Quinn growled as he swung his hammer out again, both huntsmen again moving out of range of the faunus' attacks. Lance stepped further back, striking out with the hook of his blade, wrapping it around the criminal's wrist, his main hand outstretching entirely; Rainier immediately lashed out with a kick at the brute's grip, the impact ripping the hammer free entirely.

The haft of the weapon met Lance's boot as it fell, sending it right back into the air, Rainier leaping into the air in perfect synergy, a kick sending the head of the hammer directly back into Quinn's face.

The swordsman lashed out to grab it in his own hands, spinning quickly in his spot, bringing the maul's head full force into the side of its owner's head and, still spinning, hurled the weapon across the shipyard, far out of sight of the trio.

The two huntsmen shared cocky, self-satisfied smirks.

Quinn lashed out with a brutal fist to Rainier, his head whiplashing backwards from the impact, the lion's other hand crashing down onto the top of Lance's head, the swordsman sent flat onto the shattered pavement below. The White Fang reached out to grip Rainier's throat tightly, propelling him back across the battlefield, a swift kick to Lance's midsection sending the swordsman swiftly following his friend, both huntsmen skidding across the ground hard, coming to a sliding stop next to each other.

They were silent for a moment, before dual groans escaped them, shakily rising to their hands and knees, looking to each other in exasperation, before turning back to Quinn.

The lion's dark eyes glared furiously at the two huntsmen, his shoulders rising and falling furiously, hands gripped into claws at his side.

"Don't you get it?!" He roared. "You can't _kill me_! You can't _beat me_! You don't stand a _chance_! I've fought more battles than you'll _ever_ see! I've killed more huntsmen than you can _imagine_! You are _nothing_ -!"

A massive green beam of energy flew across the battlefield, colliding with the faunus, sending him crashing away from the huntsmen. Rainier and Lance slowly looked up to the container behind them; Penny was standing on its edge, a cylinder of swords floating above her head, brilliant green eyes glaring across the shipyard towards the smoking, recovering faunus. She looked down to the duo, a bright smile crossing her face.

"Ruby says you two are friends! Sal-u-tations! My name is Penny Polendina! And you are?"

"…Lance."

"Rainier?"

"Phenomenal!"

Quinn shakily rose to his feet, fuming as he stared at the trio, his body beginning to tremble. His hands rose, a building roar beginning to bubble up from his chest, voice going hoarse, spittle flying through the air.

Penny bit down on her tongue in concentration, thrusting her arms forwards, two swords following the motion- not towards the raging White Fang though.  
Instead burying themselves into the shipping container hanging above him, a swift motion tearing it free from the crane it was held by, the massive metal crate careening down onto his head, the faunus disappearing amidst the blue steel, the Schnee Company logo gleaming on its side proudly.

Rainier and Lance let out dual sighs of relief, smiles finding their faces-  
Until the container began to slowly rise, Quinn beginning to become visible under it, buried several feet into the asphalt, his muscles trembling as he steadily lifted it, dark eyes meeting the two huntsmen, a snarl on his face.

"You're gods damned kidding me." Lance barked, waving at the White Fang angrily.

"I concur." Rainier spat.

Penny, though, looked thoughtful for a moment, her gaze rising to a bullhead quickly trying to escape the shipyard. She grinned in satisfaction as she sent two more swords out into the air, hooking the craft-

And brought it down directly onto the crate, sending it crashing back down into the asphalt, the faunus again disappeared.

The trio sat silently for an anxious moment.

There was no movement.

Rainier chuckled as he began to push himself to his feet, Lance collapsing down onto his face, miserable groans escaping him, the tension draining from them, their adrenaline fading away.

The faunus turned to stare out at the rest of the shipyard, taking in the destruction wrought-

Roman dashed towards the seaside of the dock, quickly entering into a bullhead, its rotors already going, immediately taking flight as he placed a foot onto it. He stalled, turning back to the shipyard. "You kids just keep getting weirder and weirder!" He barked, reaching out with his cane to latch onto the bullhead's door, moving to close it.

But not before Rainier's yellow eyes met gold, bright in the contrasting dark of the craft's belly, a simmering, glowing blade held aloft beside the figure.

The moment passed as quickly as it began, the door closing as the bullhead took flight, racing away from the shipyard and into the night, disappearing in moments.

Rainier stared off after the craft with furrowed eyebrows, before turning back to Lance, leaning down to pat his shoulder. "I believe we're done here, my friend."

"Uh huh." The swordsman muttered, not stirring.

The faunus chuckled, turning up towards the top of the shipping container.

"Miss Polendina, you have our…" He trailed off.

The huntress was gone.

He looked around in confusion for a moment, not finding hide nor hair of the girl, only peering across to Blake, Sun, and Ruby, the monkey faunus raising two thumbs up with a beaming grin. Rainier shook his head, ducking low to grab onto Lance's jacket, the sounds of police sirens beginning to sound in the night, red and blue lights racing towards the shipyard.

"Come now, Mr. Zaffre," The faunus said. "We have a celebration to begin."

" _Yaaay_ …"

* * *

Daria ducked under the yellow tape furiously, her face twisted into an enraged scowl.

"Hey!" A cop said, walking towards her. "You can't-"

She froze in front of him, standing on her tippy toes to glare directly into his face, a finger held in warning, trembling with the full force of her anger. They stared off for a long moment before he raised his hands abatingly, backing away from her, sweat beading on his brow.

The leader of DRGN turned, giving Gail and Nash a stern nod, the duo standing awkwardly for a moment before following her lead. Yang stepped under the tape, Weiss a step behind her.

"Jeez," She muttered. "You alright?"

"I'm pretty far from alright." Daria hissed as the five huntsmen began to march across the shipyard, singling in on the small group of people gathered at the heart of the docks, a motley of police and detectives buzzing around the shipping containers, gathering the unconscious and groaning White Fang and mobsters-

Several gathered around the wrecked remains of a crate and a bullhead, staring uncertainly at it, scratching their heads.

Weiss lifted her chin in the air, eyebrows furrowed. "They could have at least been a _bit_ gentler. These containers aren't exactly inexpensive."

"Honestly," Yang said. "I doubt they were really that concerned with them."

Nash jolted, one arm swinging out to point rigidly forwards. "Spotted!"

Daria angrily ruffled his hair as she picked up pace, the group speedily making their way towards the group gathered around several boxes and chairs.

Lance looked up, his eyes locking onto the short huntress' own. "Wuh-oh."

" _Rainier Platina_!" She spat.

The faunus blinked, looking down from his perch on top a shipping crate. "…Dearest Daria?"

"Don't you- get down here!"

He hesitated for a moment before sliding down, frowning as she continued to storm towards him. "D-"

She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him towards her, hitting his shoulder repeatedly, managing to spit between blows, "Do! Not! Go fighting terrorists! By yourself!"

He shied away from the assault, unable to loose her grip. "I was hardly alone!"

" _Do! Not! Go fighting terrorists! By yourself!"_

"Alright, alright, I yield!"

She pointed an angry finger into his face, fuming. "Not another word out of you until we get back to the room."

Rainier leaned away from her face filled with concern, looking to his other teammates for aid. "I… _yes_ , mother, gods above."

Ruby bolted from her seated position, making a beeline towards Weiss, hands raised. "Look, Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing; see, she doesn't actually have a bow, she-"

"Ruby." Blake cut in sharply, staring at DRGN.

"-Uh haha, right, she, um-"

"You both stop!" Weiss snapped, storming past her partner to march straight towards Blake. "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you today? Twelve hours! Twelve. Hours. That means in the last twelve hours, I've had a lot of time to think… and I don't care."

"You… you don't?"

"What did you tell me yesterday?"

"I-" Blake gave DRGN another look. "I said that I wasn't associated with them any-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it! All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some…" The heiress trailed off, looking to Sun and Rainier. "…Someone else."

Blake stared at her for a moment, tears beginning to well in her eyes, a small smile claiming her face. "…Of course."

"Yeah!" Ruby called out, jumping in the air with a raised fist. "Team RWBY's back together."

"I'm still not sure how I feel about you!" Weiss barked, pointing to Sun. Her gaze turned to Rainier, eyes narrowing, stepping up towards him. "And _you_."

He nervously side-stepped Daria, her glare never leaving his face, giving the Atlesian a small bow. "…Aha… Miss Schnee. Always a pleasure."

"This does _not_ make us better, understand that… but it does help."

"…You're welcome?"

"I wasn't thanking you."

"Yes you were."

"Every word you say makes me hate you more."

"Of course, dear. Of course."

Blake stepped up besides Weiss, a hand resting on the heiress' shoulder. "Rainier, I just wanted to say… thank you. You didn't- neither of you- had to come help us, but… I really appreciate it."

His eyes flitted over towards her, yellow gaze going cold, amused expression falling for a split second into icy indifference, before a thin smile reclaimed his face. "…Of course."

"Thank you, sincerely."

His expression wavered for a moment, teeth gritting together, before his grin widened, giving her a stiff, small bow. " _Of course_ , Belladonna. It was… _my pleasure_."

Her face fell slightly, concern taking her features. "Rain-"

"Come, then, Daria," He cut in, walking away from Team RWBY. "I'm certain you have no lack of cutting words for me!"

"Oh you bet your ass I do!" She spat, beginning to take off after him, before stopping, turning back to the remaining huntsmen and huntresses. "…Thanks for watching out for him. He doesn't deserve it, but… thanks for not letting him die."

"Of course!" Sun called, brightening. "It was awesome meeting you, Platina!"

"You as well, Wukong." He called back, waving a hand over his shoulder.

"Buh-bye!" Nash said, waving to RWBY. "See you later!"

The girls waved goodbye as DRGN took their leave, Daria stuck to Rainier's side, hissing at him furiously as they went, Gail trailing along behind them, a small, amused- and relieved- smile on her face.

The remaining huntsmen watched them go, Yang pointing back and forth between Blake and the faunus. "That was- what was- that was really weird, right? Do you know what that was about?"

Blake's face fell, one arm hugging herself. "…I think I do…"

"Hey, chin up!" Sun said, popping to his feet. "We just routed a huge White Fang operation, and really gave it to that Roman creep!"

"Yeah… I guess. Thanks, Sun."

"Aw, no problem, that's what friends are for, right?"

Weiss scoffed. "Apparently."

Yang, though, removed herself from the conversation, sauntering over to where Lance was leaning against the shipping container, her eyebrow raised, a small cocked smile written across her expression. "And what do we have here, blondie?"

He looked up, solemn expression fading to a challenging one. "Bimbo, right?"

The huntress scoffed as she took a spot next to him, giving him a once over. "You look like you got ran over by a bullet train."

"Yeah, well, being a hero'll do that to ya, you should try it sometime."

The duo went silent for a moment, Yang's smile softening. "Thanks for lending a hand, Zaffre."

"…Yeah. No problem."

"I honestly figured you'd be the last person to stick your neck out for someone else."

"I appreciate how little you think of me, thanks."

They stared off for a moment. "You know, Lance… I thought you were a smug, self-serving, arrogant douchebag… maybe I was wrong about you."

" _Hey_ ," He said sternly, pointing a finger into her face. "You shut your mouth with all that. I've got a reputation to upkeep, alright? Can't have you besmirching it saying such horrible things."

That drew a genuine laugh from Yang, shaking her head. "Alright, alright, forget I said anything… _hero_ ," They stood quietly for a moment, looking out over the crime scene and wreckage that was the docks, before she looked up. "…Why were you out here anyways? I know Rainier was actually looking for Blake, but you never mentioned how you managed to get wrapped up in this."

His smile slowly faded, gaze dropping to the ground. "It was, uh… it was a long day. Needed to clear my head. Plus, the longer I'm out here, the longer until I've gotta head back to the room."

"What's wrong with your room? Oracle being… Oracle?"

"Ha, no. It's, uh… we'll just say that Ulysses isn't a… big fan of the whole 'team' thing."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?"

* * *

Ulysses let out a growl of frustration as Avenger swung out around him, shattering through the trunk of a nearby tree with ease, kindling flying to the air, it's several story height slowly teetering to fall down to the ground below.

Lance ducked the flail, letting it sail above him, popping back up to his feet, gesturing at Shinai with wide eyes, hands in the air. The samurai gave him a stern look, hand raised for him to cease.

"You are not helping the situation, Zaffre." Oracle said, glaring over her sunglasses at the swordsman.

"I'm _sorry_!" He called out. "I don't know what to tell you! I don't know what to tell _you_!" He pointed towards Ulysses.

The giant snarled down at his partner, his flail snaking back towards him, chain disappearing up his sleeve. "The only thing keeping me from crushing you is the fact that it won't be worth it."

"The only thing keeping me from turning you into a Ulysses-kabob is the fact that you're my actual _partner_! We are on a team!"

"We're not a _team_ ," He growled. "You and Carmine are some of the most insufferable whelps I've ever met. And you," He turned his fury towards Shinai. "I know _who you are_. I know why you're here. You want to tell them?"

"You know nothing about me." The leader said lowly, face going dark, tone filled with warning.

"Oh, yes I do, samurai. Who was that guy who stood on that stage? The one that fought Nikos like a madman? That's not the same neutered brat standing here. Why don't you tell them why you're _really_ here."

The quartet stood silently for a moment, Shinai's gaze rising to meet Ulysses'. "…You think I'm here to fight Nikos? Is that what you believe?"

"Sure seems like it from where I'm standing."

Shinai's head fell… and laughter began to bubble out from him, a hand raising to palm his face, his teammates all staring at him, taken aback. The samurai looked back up to Ulysses, face awash with disbelief. "You're even bigger of a fool than I thought you were."

"…What did you call me?"

"Uh, Kyani?" Oracle began- only for him to raise a hand to her.

The samurai began to march evenly towards his teammate. "…I came to this school to make my Temple proud, to serve it. I do _nothing_ for myself. I serve others first. I didn't want a team; but I was given one, so I work to serve you three, as that is my duty. I hold no grudge against Pyrrha; only respect. And that boy that you saw in that fight? He's long dead. I killed him,"

The trio of huntsmen went silent, staring towards their leader as he continued to step closer towards Ulysses, the mirth on his face fading into cold anger. "He was the last remnant of a boy who grew up on the streets, fighting every moment of his life to survive. That boy was angry, and _hurting_ , and grieving; yes, that pain gave me strength, but it was temporary, it was unreliable, so I let. It. _Go_. You think your anger, whatever darkness you have in your past is what makes you strong? It doesn't. All it makes you is a coward."

Ulysses' snarl returned to his face, bearing down on the utterly non-plussed samurai. "Don't you dare call me a coward!"

"But you are. Only a coward would push others out of his life. You don't hate us; you're afraid of us."

"You don't-"

"I do. I know you better than you know yourself, because I was you. Look me in the eyes; anger makes you strong? Do you believe, truly, that you could defeat me? Right here. Right now. Do you?"

The brooding warrior moved to retort, staring into Shinai's cold purple orbs. His bravado slowly faded, face falling unsurely.

"No. You couldn't. Your strength comes from anger, but it will fail you when you need it the most, just as it failed me. Discipline, heart, soul, that is what makes me strong, it is what has kept me alive. Do you truly think that your pain makes you better than myself, or Carmine, or Zaffre? They will stand as a team; it is the individual who dies alone,"

The small clearing went silent, the fire in Ulysses' eyes slowly fading, replaced with introspection, gaze falling to stare at the ground.

"You have a choice; and now is when you must make it. If you choose to be alone, then so be it, we will not force you to be a part of this team, but you will be truly alone. If you choose us, you will be part of this team. You will eat with us, you will attend class with us, you will train with us; but you won't be alone. And perhaps is what you need; to give yourself to a cause greater than yourself. But you have to make that choice now."

The quartet fell back into uneasy quiet; Ulysses' gaze still refusing to raise and meet Shinai's.

He let out a barely audible sigh. "…What do you need me to do?"

"Look at me," The two dark huntsmen met eyes again, Shinai's gaze intense. "…You must promise to me that you will not be sorry; you will be better."

"I… promise. But you- _all of you_... have to respect my space. _No exceptions_."

Their leader turned towards Lance and Oracle, both staring in mirror expressions of awe and terror, jolting at the sudden attention. "Yeah, totally!" Lance managed.

"Yep, sure thin', hon!"

Shinai nodded. "Good. We're all clear then."

"…Crystal." Ulysses muttered, giving his leader an appraising, and disconcerted, look.

Lance's face split into a smile. "One of us! One of us! One of-" His partner gave him an unamused glare. "Aight, we'll get there, we'll get there."

Oracle let out a sharp whistle, cutting through the forest air, both revolvers quickly drawn into her hands. "Heads. We've got company."

The rest of SOUL wheeled to attention, looking into the shadows cast by the trees around them; and the dozens of red eyes glaring in at them, a chorus of growls now evident.

The first of the ursai slowly prowled into the clearing, staring down each of the quartet, massive form rippling with bone plate and muscles. The swordsmen drew their blades, Shinai taking the lead while Lance and Oracle backed further away, the greatswordsman standing as a buffer between the gunslinger and the grimm.

Ulysses stared between the trio uncertainly, dark gaze meeting Shinai's own. He nodded, Avenger falling from his grasp to thud against the dirt floor. "…What's the plan."

The samurai twirled his blade. "…Kill some grimm."

"Heh," A cruel smile claimed the berserker's face. "That… _I can do_."

* * *

"And that's only the _beginning_!"

Rainier shied away from Daria, further into the chair she had him pinned in, leaning his face as far away from hers as he could. "…You have some concerns."

"Oh! Oh, yeah, I've got concerns by the dozen!"

"…My _donas_! I forgot my _donas_ and my coffee! I wonder if they're-"  
Daria slammed a hand down on the arm of the chair. "No. Stop. Talking. You are not goofing your way out of this; you're going to sit there and shut. Up."

His eyes widened, struggling to find words for a moment. "… I… I- yes."

"Good! I have absolutely had it with you and your nonsense! This whole 'holier-than-thou' attitude you've had since we met is getting really old! Newsflash, I know you're a better fighter than me. I know you're a better fighter than them, I know you're super charismatic and all that, and you know what? I don't care! I really don't care! You're just another prissy, preppy spoiled brat to me! You think Gail, or Nash care?"

"Yeah! Wait, no, I don't!" Nash called agreeingly.

"Thank you, Nash. So, no, you're not impressing anybody; and I get that back in Vacuo, you were so good, and so cool, and all that, but none of us even know who you or your family are, so it means absolute jack to us!"

The faunus stared at her, shell-shocked and at a loss for words as she continued. "So we- myself in particular- are sick of it. I'm sick of you bugging off at the first opportunity, I'm sick of you acting like you're not even part of this team. I'm sick of you thinking you're better than us, and don't need us. Look at you last night! You almost died! You _could_ _have_ died! And where would that leave us, huh? Huh?"

"…Without a fourth member." He muttered.

"No!" She pushed him, his chair wheeling back with the impact. "We would have lost you! You, Rainier, the person, not just some arbitrary position as a member of the team. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

The faunus stopped unsurely, his gaze shifting between his three teammates, Gail alone looking remorseful for the situation they were in. "I… I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? That's it?"

"Yes, I am sorry! I dearly apologize!"

"Apologies don't really mean anything, if you're not-"

"I apologize that I have been a shit, I apologize that I have treated you four- you, Daria Copper, in particular, poorly, I apologize that I have been absent at best, and have abandoned you at worst! I apologize for not putting my trust or faith into you."

"And?"

The duo stared off, the brief flash of defiance in the faunus' face fading to guilt, gaze falling to the floorboards below. He let loose a sigh. "…The… my actions have actively sabotaged and put the- our team behind my own selfish inclinations… you've not deserved that," He looked to his teammates ashamedly. "…The face I put forth to you three is an unbecoming one… it may be hard to believe, but… I am not always the over-confident, self-assured man that has… mistreated you over the course of the last few weeks… I put on a brave face, a charismatic face to strangers and those I don't… fully trust. I've treated you three the same way- I've treated all of our friends the same way. It's easier that way, harder to disappoint, and harder to be disappointed… but that's unfair to you,"

He leaned forwards to rest his elbows on his knees, head falling, shaking side-to-side. "It's hard to let down one's guard when you're used to being treated second best; if you refuse to let people in, they can't hurt you."

"…Hey; look at me, though," Daria said, voice softening, crouching down to be eye level with him. "I'm a walking ball of nerves and anxiety. I don't want to be your guys' leader, and it's been pretty dang miserable… but I still do it. I hate getting close to people. You're right, it's a good way to get hurt and get disappointed, but sometimes you've just gotta bite that bullet. How else are you gonna make friends? Look at Gail!"

The archer jolted, eyes widening at the sudden shift towards her. "Uh- eheh… hi."

Rainier gave her a small, quiet smile. Daria gestured towards their teammates.

"She's probably the least outgoing person I've ever met in my life, but she's still here, she still tries. Nash-"

"Hello!"

All eyes turned to the boy, their leader shaking her head. "…He's Nash. You get the point. Do you really want to be that alone? Really?"

"…No. No, I don't think I do."

"See, I thought so. I'm not great with people, but… I think you're a lot better of a person than you think you are."

"…Yes. I suppose you… may be onto something there."

She reached out to place an arm on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Listen, Rainier; we might not be a family that you wanted, but I think that we're the family we've all got. We're a team. D-R-G-N. We've got you. We just… need you to give us a chance."

The Vacuoan sat silently for a moment, before bringing his gaze up to meet hers, tears beginning to well in his eyes, a wavering smile claiming his face. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet- and gave his teammates a small bow.

"My name is Rainier Platina," He said, voice remaining as strong as he could manage. "I was born in Tear's Fall, on the west coast of Vacuo. I was born to Camilla and Leonardo Platina. I attended Oasis Academy before I transferred here. It's… a pleasure to meet you all."

Daria smiled back to him as she rose to her feet, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "…Welcome to the team, Rainier."

* * *

The wind whipped around the exterior of the dilapidated warehouse as the bullhead swiftly lowered down to the cracked pavement below. The craft had barely touched down before the door roughly slid open, Roman Torchwick hoping out to storm forwards angrily, a cigar grit tightly in his teeth, gloved hands wringing his cane tightly.

After a moment, Vegas Gold climbed from the bullhead, body much more relaxed, his now cool golden blade tapping against the ground, following the furious mob boss towards the entrance of their hide out.

"That was stellar, Rome," The golden criminal called. "Really, I couldn't have done it better myself. How much Dust do you think we just lost? How many men do you think we just lost?"

Roman stopped, turning on his heel to storm back towards his partner. "I am not having it, right now, Gold!" He barked. "If you'd just gotten off your ass and, oh I don't know, helped us fight them off, we might be in a much better position, instead of losing an entire goddamned Schnee Freighter's worth of Dust!"

"It was six. _Kids_."

"And they just dismantled our entire operation without so much as a single loss, congrats, Gold! I bet your pride was worth it, huh?"

The killer shrugged as Roman threw the massive door of the warehouse open, storming inside, his companion a relaxed step behind him, looking around. "Watching you fail that miserably was well worth the price, though," Then he stopped, amused expression dropping into a dead serious one. "Torchwick, we do need to talk."

"What!" Roman barked, turning on his heel.

"Our mutual benefactor's not going to be happy."

"Yeah, I've thought about that, _thank you_ for bringing it back up!"

"When I say not happy, I mean your head on the chopping block not happy. Which would be a shame, considering that there's a small, teeny part of my heart that's still alive that's starting to like you."

The mob boss gave him a flat look. "…Thank you for that, Vegas. It really warms my soul to hear you say that. If you don't mind, I'm going to drink myself into a stupor. Thanks, and have-"

"How very _disappointing_ , Roman."

Both criminals froze, Vegas' eyes widening in shock and surprise. They turned hard to stare into the darkness, their expressions unsure, gazes meeting for a moment.

 _Whoosh_.

A rush of fire sounded out through the quiet warehouse, illuminating the figures sequestered in the shadows; the center one stepped forwards, her eyes glowing like embers. "Emerald, Mercury, do be dears and make sure that… everything is up to standards here, would you?"

"Of course." Another woman said, the other two stepping away from her to march further into the warehouse, confidence exuding in each step. The woman was younger, skin dark, hair mint green, dressed lightly in white and brown leathers, two green pistols at her side.

The other was a young man, face pale, his hair a mess of dark silver, form-fitting outfit greys and silvers, each step he took ringing out with the sound of metal on metal. He gave Vegas and Roman a smirk as he passed by them.

Roman watched them go, before turning his attention back to the woman, swallowing nervously. "…I… didn't expect to see you guys so soon."

"So very disappointing. We expected so much more from you," She purred smoothly as she walked forwards; fair skinned, her hair long and dark, her body covered in a short-cut red and gold dress, bits and baubles over her arms and legs, perched high on dark heels. "It's such a shame."

"Hey!" Roman spat, his discomfort turning to indignation. "You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang!"

She chuckled, stepping out of the shadows towards the two criminals. "And you will continue to do so. We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is… a little more cooperation."

The mob boss' confidence wavered for a moment, gaze shifting between the two killers before him. He shook his head, turning towards his office. "…Your kids better not mess with any of my shit!" He called out, disappearing around the corner, slamming the door shut behind him.

"…Cinder Fall," Vegas said, a satisfied smile crawling across his face. "Glad to have you here."

She hummed coyly, smirking as she reached him, stepping _very_ close to him. "Hello, Goldie. Long time no see. I see, you, however… haven't lost a step."

He leaned down towards her. "Of course. I'd hate to disappoint."

Their faces nearly touched- before she swept past him with a low chuckle. "We have business to attend to, Goldie… pleasure later."

He stared at the spot she'd been sourly for a moment, finally turning to follow after her. "…So am I done here?"

"Yes, Goldie. You'll be moved closer to campus."

Vegas' face split with a twisted grin. "Finally time to get my hands dirty?"

"Of course… try not to make too much of a mess."

"Mm… can't promise anything,

I've got a few kids to cross off my list."

* * *

-Volume 1-


	12. Volume 2, Chapter 1: Second Term

Volume 2, Chapter 1: Second Term

* * *

Vegas Gold rotated his shoulder, glaring through the dark at his opponent. "Come on then. Don't be shy!"

The nameless White Fang grunt hesitated, mouth gaping in abject horror, cat like ears pinning back against his head.

The golden criminal tapped the tip of his blade against the stone floor, grinning widely. "Heeere, kitty-kitty-"

The faunus let out a yell of anger, dashing forwards with his pistol raised high, firing shot after shot at his 'sparring partner'. Vegas simply raised his gold blade, the bullets bouncing off, face sharpening into a look of nearly manic glee. The White Fang reached him- and ate a solid boot to the chest, going flying across the empty warehouse floor to crash into the wall, falling with a groan.

Gold dashed forwards, swiping down with his blade and nearly making contact, before the man rolled away. He didn't get far though, Vegas' hand lashing out and catching him by his hood, dragging him back to the wall. A vicious knee strike greeted him, his white mask shattering with the impact, going limp with a low moan.

The killer reared back, blade held high. "Thanks for playing, kiddo!"

He brought his sword back down-

"Goldie."

Vegas went stock still, golden eyes widening, blade mere centimeters from the faunus' dazed face. He turned over his shoulder, to the platform high above, Cinder's burning eyes glowing in the dark. "Oh. Hey, Cin. You mind? I'm just finishing up here-"

"Let him go, Goldie," She purred, with a note of humor in her voice. "We need to treat our business partners like how we treat those from our own organization."

He blinked owlishly, before backing away from his would-be victim, the White Fang beginning to drag himself away. "And how is our benevolent Queen?"

The lift under Cinder's feet began to lower, taking her down to the ground level, sashaying forwards with a coy smirk on her face. "All is well, Goldie. All is well."

"Uh huh..." He said distractedly as she neared, one hand softly brushing against his arm as she passed.

And then she stopped, hand gripping his arm tightly, heat beginning to emanate from her grip as she turned now hard eyes to him. "But there are those who question your loyalty to the cause. After all... you've been away for quite some time."

His face twisted into a snarl of pain, twitching against her touch- but didn't make an attempt to pull away, instead growling out through grit teeth, "Well... that's what happens... when they send me to take care of business..." He turned his snarl towards her, gold eyes burning with a maelstrom of emotions. " _I know where my allegiances li_ e."

The smirk found its way back to her face, and she released him, Vegas sucking in a breath through his teeth. Cinder reached up and patted his cheek familiarly. "Good. Then we're... understood." Her hand lingered on his skin for a moment as she continued to walk away, deeper into the warehouse, leaving the criminal standing alone.

He watched her go for a moment, before letting out a low growl, turning to the burned skin marking where she had held him.

"You're lucky it's to you." He muttered, before stalking off as well.

* * *

Rainier opened the Styrofoam box hesitantly, looking in at its contents, several cold, somewhat bland empanadas sitting inside. His expression soured as he closed it, holding it against his side as he continued on his way towards the grand hall of the cafeteria, humming to himself thoughtfully.

"If you bump into me, I will hurt you."

He blinked at the sudden new voice, turning- to watch as Weiss began come up parallel to him, her path similarly taking her to the hall, her own box held in hand. "Ah. Miss Schnee. A pleasure."

"Rainier."

The duo walked in step along their way, holding their meals silently. Finally, he looked down to her. "You look... simply radiant as always."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Platina."

"Ah, but tis worth a try," They went silent again, the air beginning to thicken with tension. The faunus shook his head. "Alright, Miss Schnee, I... I wish to... I wish to apol… _apologize_ for the things I said about your family. They were... unbecoming of me."

She sniffed, nose sticking up into the air. "...And I'm sorry for judging you on the fact that you were a faunus before I even got to know you."

They nodded in unison, Rainier's jaw clenching tightly, looking sincerely uncomfortable. "...I am attempting to be a better person, and I am starting with you."

"Well... as am I. And I suppose that you will be a good starting point as well."

"...Truce?"

They stopped, the Vacuoan reaching out towards the Atlesian. She stared down at the offered limb, before rather daintily taking it in her own. "Truce. Do _not_ kiss my knuckles."

"We are not there yet, I understand. We will be."

"You may be the most annoying person I've ever met, and I've had to fight off Jaune for the past several months."

"Yes, again, I am working on that. Also, you have my sincere apologies."

"I suppose we have one thing in common, then."

"...I doubt it's only one thing."

"...You're probably more correct than either of us want to admit."

"Truce it is!"

The two huntsmen went quiet as they stepped into the hall, peering up and over the heads of the students within, searching for their friends-

"I will stab you in the eyes." Daria hissed loudly, waving her fork at Nash's face. The, boy, surprised by the sudden motion, leapt backwards, crashing off of his feet to slam into the tile floor, his tray sent flying into the air.

Rainier and Weiss slowly met gazes, the former sighing. "...Those are mine."

"Hmph. Just wait until Ruby gives us the 'best day ever' pitch again."

"Oh, I _cannot_ wait."

"MY FOOOD!" He cried mournfully from his position on the ground, desperately crawling towards the remains of his lunch, clutching two fistfuls of mashed potatoes tightly. He threw his head back and let out a mournful wail, the few other students occupying the cafeteria looking over to him in confusion.

The diminutive leader's look of mock fury slowly faded as she leaned forwards, peering over to her partner. "Nash," She said, the bite in her voice slowly fading. "...Nash?"

The boy slowly turned to her, with surprisingly real tears streaming down his face, expression twisted into one of grief. "How could you?" He whispered.

"...Nash, are you-"

"No!"

Rainier stepped between his two teammates, looking back and forth between them with a frown. "...Have I missed something!"

"Hey, Rainier." Daria said.

"Raini-e- _e-r_!" Nash sobbed, still grieving over his spilt meal.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to her teammates. Ruby jumped to attention, a massive binder held in hand, the words 'Best Day Ever' written in marker on its cover. "Friend Weiss, you have made it! Our meeting may begin!"

"Here we go..." The heiress muttered, picking at her food disinterestedly.

"Ahem! Sister. Friend. Weiss. Four score and earlier this morning, I had a dream!"

"This oughtta be good." Yang said, giving her sister an attentive glance.

The young huntress raised the binder high. "A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... ever!"

"...Is that my binder?" Weiss said, perking up with a frown.

"I am not a crook."

Blake shook her head. "What are you talking about, Ruby?"

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today. "

Rainier leaned forwards, grinning broadly. "Fascinating! What are we doing then, Miss Rose?"

"Uh, well..." The aforementioned huntress said bashfully, slowly closing the over-stuffed binder in front of her. "I... only planned stuff for my team."

"Uh huh." The faunus continued on, unfazed.

"And, well... just my team."

"Yes, so you said."

"So... it was... just gonna be the four of us?"

"That's implied."

The short girl stared at him, apologetic look slowly melting into one of confusion. "Eh... I'm... lost."

"As am I."

"Oh, stop," Yang said, catching a thrown grape in her mouth. "You're gonna make her fry a circuit."

Rainier turned to the blonde with an amused grin. "Ah, but look at her expression! Priceless."

"I thought you were working on being a better person." Weiss said, giving the Vacuoan an unimpressed look.

He stared back at her owlishly, expression confused. "...This _is_ me being a better person."

Nora threw another grape towards Yang- only for it to get snatched out of the air by a lightning fast Lance. "Hey!" The girls both cried in unison.

"Hey!" He shot back, popping the fruit into his mouth. "They were out of grapes when I got there, and I blame you! I've got a very small amount of foods I can eat at any given time and you will let me have this!"

Oracle slapped his shoulder. "Sit down, you're makin' a scene."

The blonde swordsman threw his hands up, gesturing wildly at the grieving Nash. "EH?!"

"Not my circus, not my clowns."

"Hey!" Nash cried back. "This is serious!"

"You'll be fine, darlin'." The cowgirl called back.

"Alright," Lance said, turning to look towards Shinai. "And what does our fearless leader have in store for us? Some sort of fun itinerary? A list of group activities we can all embark on? Do tell!"

The samurai slowly looked up to his teammate. "No."

"Cold as ice, Shin!" Oracle said.

"Firstly," He said. "Don't call me Shin. Secondly; it's your last day off. Enjoy it. Tomorrow, we get back to work. And if you want any chance of qualifying for the tournament, then our training exercises will only get more intense."

"Well... you just have a way of taking the mood out of the room, don't you?"

"I got it!" Nora cried.

Rainier raised an eyebrow as he slowly leaned backwards, watching with a raised eyebrow as the remnants of a pie flew in front of his face.

It continued to fly from one side of the table, soaring with a purpose, before colliding with Weiss' face, a small explosion of its contents spilling out in her spot.

Slowly- very, very slowly, she turned to Rainier, who raised his hands. "For once, this was not me."

At the other end of the table, Daria slowly leaned backwards, giving the heiress a crystal clear view of Nora, arm still outstretched, eyes wide with shock. She pointed at Ren, the quiet huntsman simply shaking his head.

* * *

"FOOD FIGHT!"

The teams of SOUL and DRGN continued to walk out of the cafeteria unabated, trailing behind the more panicked, scrambling denizens of the hall fleeing with much more urgency, Shinai leading the way, shaking his head in disappointment.

Rainier blinked as he caught the familiar gold mane of Sun Wukong, a grin splitting his face. "Mr. Wukong!"

The other faunus smiled back- before fading as he caught a glimpse of the events transpiring inside the cafeteria. "Hey... what is-"

"And I don't believe we've met!" The former Vacuoan continued on, turning to the foreigner's companion; a handsome teen, hair a bright blue and combed neatly to the side, dressed rather formally in a red suit jacket, white shirt, and matching black tie, pants, shoes, and fingerless gloves.

He quickly extended his hand to Rainier, giving him a gleaming smile.

"Neptune Vasilias, at your service."

The faunus' yellow eyes lit up in interest, shaking the newcomer's hand with a matching, brilliant smile. "Rainier Platina of Vacuo, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf. At your service."

The duo continued to shake each other's hand as the moment stretched on to awkward lengths.

Daria grabbed her friend by his hood, dragging him away. "Come on, you weirdo."

Lance stopped next to the duo, looking them up and down, face begrudging. He snorted and continued on.

"What a waste." Nash said quietly as he stared in at the dining hall, shaking his head. He marched after his friends without giving the Mistrali huntsmen a single look.

Sun and Neptune shared a look, the former shrugging. "Okay, so that was Rainier and Lance, the other guys from the shipyard. But they're super cool too!"

"You don't-"

They both froze as they entered the cafeteria, the faunus grinning brightly, while the latter teen's face fell in horror as they stared at the chaos that had consumed the cafeteria, Team JNPR and Team RWBY wildly brawling, food flying to soak every available surface in mess.

* * *

The airships roared in a crescendo of engines as they soared overhead to rest above the city of Vale; white in armor, and numbering in the dozens, three absolutely massive warships leading the charge. The logo of Atlas, painted in black, shone on the sides of the ships pointedly, banners flying off of some as they came to a stop, many citizens of the city stepping out into the streets to look up in awe and confusion at the fleet.

Rainier stared out at the Atlesian military with a barely disguised snarl, hands clenched into fists from his perch above his teammates, sitting atop a tree branch.

Daria looked up from her Scroll at him, frowning in concern. "...You okay, Rainier?"

He jerked out of his trance, blinking as he looked down to his leader. "...I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"You are looking at the same thing as I am, yes?"

"Yeah. It's kinda spooky, isn't it?"

"If that's the word you wish to use."

"Vacuo... and Atlas haven't... always been very... friendly." Gail cut in quietly.

Rainier snorted. "If that's the word you wish to use."

Daria pocketed her Scroll. "That's not it though, is it?"

The faunus looked down to her for a second, before turning his gaze back to the fleet, pale yellow eyes softening. "...A lot of Platinas died in the Great War."

"Oh."

He sighed as he dropped down to the ground. "In my family, family is everything. It's what you're taught from day one. Sometimes, wounds don't simply heal. But... nevertheless. I suppose not all Atlesians are bad."

"I mean... Weiss has her moments."

The Vacuoan hummed. "Indeed she does. Nevertheless. I am a faunus, after all. I have more than my share of reasons to dislike Atlas."

"Is it..." The diminutive huntress thought her words over for a moment. "Is it bad up there?"

"Atlas' industrial sector-" Gail stopped in her place as her teammates looked to her, beginning to blush. "...They, um... are renowned for their... poor treatment of... faunus workers."

Rainier gave his leader a pointed eyebrow raise, before turning to march away- stopping before Phalanx. "Nash, my short friend!" There was a clattering of metal on metal as the blonde huntsman popped up from behind his mech, fair skin smudged with grease.

"Ello!"

The faunus chuckled. "And what say you?"

"About wha?"

"A... about the military. Flying in?"

Nash stared at his friend with narrowed eyes for a moment. "I don't know wha-" His gaze shot to the skyline, widening in shock. "-OH MY GOSH! IS THAT ATLAS?!"

"I believe we'll call that an abstainment."

"OH I HOPE THEY BROUGHT COOL STUFF! DO YOU THINK IF I SHOW THEM PHALANX THEY'LL GIVE ME A GRANT?!"

Rainier turned back to his leader with a shrug.

Daria rolled her eyes. "Nash, stop fanboying and finish working on Phalanx. I'm not gonna be late to class because of you."

The boy, still buzzing excitedly, ducked back behind his mech, blowtorch firing back up. The faunus returned to his spot beside the tree, leaning up against it. "Mm... oh, yes, before I forget, Dearest," His leader turned to him. "The dance is arriving before too long, so... I had been wondering if you would- completely platonically, of course- go with me?"

She froze in her place, blank, confused stare washing over him, her mouth gaping open in shut, trying in vain to muster a response. "...Uh... what?"

He shrugged. "Well, I'm afraid if I did not take you, you would not go. Our Miss Cerulean won't be going either way," The archer nodded in agreement. "And Nash will do what Nash wishes, but... it would be a shame if you did not come join the festivities."

"I... I mean, that's... really nice of you, Rainier. I... completely platonically?"

"Completely platonically."

"Uh huh... you, uh... you're Rainier Platina. You sure there's no girls that would go with you not-platonically?"

"Oh, undoubtedly. However, taking a girl to such a... large event such as this dance, only to ditch them immediately afterwards, seems... a bit too morally bankrupt, even for myself. You, however, are a good friend, and even at the risk of depriving myself of... shall we say, intimacy, it would still be worth it to go with you."

"Oh... oh, wow..." She wiped at her face, trying to remove the budding smile from her expression. She cleared her throat. "Well... I wasn't gonna go... but if you're really that sincere, then... yeah, sure. I'll go."

"Splendid! We'll go to the dance, perhaps grab dinner with the others afterwards... perhaps kiss-" Her look faded to stone, glaring evenly up to him. "Or perhaps not, understood. It will be a lovely night, trust me."

"...Yeah, sure, man! Uh..." Daria rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks... I've never been... asked to a dance before. It feels... pretty dang good, actually."

"I'm honored to be your first... no pun intended, truly."

"Course. Yeah... cool... well... maybe now Lance'll stop asking me out. It's a win-win!"

Rainier nodded, gaze turning to the sky. "...That does remind me. I will see you lovely people later tonight. I have a game I must go play."

* * *

The faunus leaned against the tree nonchalantly, chomping noisily away on his apple, tail wagging lazily against the grass beneath him.

"Oh, gods, dude, I'm going to throw that thing if you don't stop." Lance muttered, turning from his own spot to glare at the faunus.

Said wolf simply smirked and winked, taking another pointed bite from the fruit.

The swordsman shook his head, turning his gaze back forwards for a few moments. "Alright... hey, what about Blake?"

Rainier swallowed his bite, raising an eyebrow. "What _about_ Blake?"

"Add her to the list?"

The faunus sighed, looking back down to his snack. "...No."

"Oh come on, she's a hot ninja."

"I see that."

"But have you _seen_ that?"

"Do you ever listen to the words that escape your lips?"

"If I did I'd be a dumber man."

Rainier turned back to him, shuffling forwards to sit beside him, looking down to the campus below. The aforementioned Belladonna was marching along the path by herself, a notebook clutched to her chest. Her shoulders, though, were slouched, dark bags hanging under her eyes, face drawn up in a tight expression belying her stress.

"No. Even if I had any interest? Look at her. It would be cruel and exploitative to try and win her over right now."

Lance snorted. "Is that a… surrender I hear?"

"Sometimes, I wonder why I play this game with you. There's no guile, no charm, no romance."

"Maybe why that's why I'm up three-to-one. You don't know how to play the game, man. You get too attached."

"Yes, well- have you considered that, perhaps, Blake is not only a friend, but also a member of our friend group? One which we see nearly everyday?"

"That sounds like a surrender."

Rainier rose to his feet, gesturing down to the girl. "By all means, Mr. Zaffre. Do what you will. But I don't accept this as a mission."

Lance though the faunus' words over for a moment, before sighing. "Fine. Not Belladonna."

"Perhaps there's hope for you yet, young Zaffre."

"Scoreboard, wolf."

Rainier snickered as he marched back to his spot leaning against the tree, pulling another apple from his bag. "I may lose this game; but at least at the end of the year, I won't have an army of angry huntresses hunting me down."

"Might have an army of huntsmen though."

"...I resent that." The faunus muttered back with a frown.

Lance shrugged. "Just sayin', man. Maybe cut your Vacuoan winks down to a minimum."

Rainier mumbled derisively for a moment as the duo lapsed back into silence, the swordsman continuing to survey the campus observantly. After a moment, though, he turned back to his friend, face more serious. "Hey, man... you heard about anything about all that White Fang shit that went down?"

The Vacuoan sighed. "...Unfortunately, no. All our dear Professor Ozpin had to say was, and I quote, 'we are continuing to look into it, and will update you as we gain further information. Thank you for your work, bah, bah, bah...'"

"That was, like, a month ago, man."

"Yes, that was my exact thought. If our beloved academy is even looking into it... I doubt they have any intention of telling us. Such is life."

"...Maybe it's something we oughtta take into our own hands, if they're not gonna care."

Rainier's face went thoughtful, shaking his head. "...Perhaps, my friend, you're onto something."

* * *

Oracle pat her stomach, nodding. "Kyani, you are a saint amongst men."

The samurai looked up from his meditation, one eye open, eyebrow cocked. "Hm?"

She grinned. "Abs! For the first damn time in my life, I got abs!" Lance snorted, getting her to turn to glare at him. "What's so funny, blondie?" He sat up in his bed, parting his top- showing off his well-chiseled mid-section, a smug eyebrow raised. The gunslinger looked down to her own stomach, a scowl finding her face. "Alright, well, at least I can eat actual food other than that dry crap and rabbit food you eat."

"Uh huh, sure. I'll just be over here with my eight friends. Wanna know their names?"

"Yeah, you woulda named them, jackass."

"Do this somewhere else," Ulysses muttered. "Literally. _Anywhere_ else."

The two fast-talkers of SOUL looked to the brooding, irritated huntsmen, rolling their eyes. Lance laid back in his bed, Scroll raised. "You're a buzzkill, big man."

"And you're annoying."

"Love you too."

Ulysses simply growled in response, the room fading back to its comfortable silence. Oracle looked back and forth between the partners, a smile spreading across her face. Her gaze landed onto Shinai, the samurai's expression satisfied. She turned back to Lance, face turning troubled, eyes casting downwards. "...Hey, Zaffre."

"Yuh huh?"

"What's with that patch you've got, hon?"

He stilled, blue orbs tilting from his screen down to the gunslinger. "...What patch?"

"The silver one, 'Legion', or whatever it said, had a horse on it."

"...Have you been going through my stuff, seriously?"

She snorted, shaking her head. "Whatever, it was on your pillow."

"On my... _damn_."

"Anyways, what is it?"

He shrugged non-commitally. "It's just a patch, Ulysses has like eighteen of them."

"No, his are a buncha rock bands, yours was, like, a military patch."

"Listen, Oracle, it's not that important."

"I thought we didn't have secrets on this team."

"No, we were all allies on this team, that doesn't mean I have to share anything with you guys."

She watched his face for a moment, his expression troubled and beginning to become irritated. "...You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna."

"...It's... it's just something from my past. It's not that big of a deal, really. Just a... little memento I like to keep around."

"Does it have somethin' to do with whatever Ozpin keeps meetin' with ya on?"

The swordsman sat up, looking across to his teammate. "Yeah. It's just something I got for some past work I did, before I came here. Drop it, alright?"

"...Aight. Forget I said anythin'."

"...Thanks. It's just, uh... a part of my life I want to leave behind."

She said nothing, slowly turning back to her Scroll, a small sigh leaving her.

Shinai watched the interaction between the duo, a rare frown taking his face, before his eyes closed again, returning to his meditation, the room plunging back into silence.

* * *

Ruby stared out of her door with a confused expression, scratching the side of her head. "Why are... _all of you_ here?"

"It's um..." Daria frowned, looking to her teammates behind her. "We... I mean it's a bit of a... we should all probably be here, this is..."

"Can we actually help you with something?" Weiss asked, an eyebrow raised.

" _We_ want to help!" Nash said excitedly, cutting Daria off as he muscled between her and Rainier, broad grin painted across his face.

All eyes locked onto him in various states of confusion. "Uh... help with what?" Ruby finally asked, breaking the silence.

"It's..." Daria sighed again. "We heard that you guys were looking into the White Fang issues going on around here. With us having a bit of a vested interest... we want to help."

"Ah, jeez, guys," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her neck. "We don't want to drag anyone else into this than we need to. These guys are really dangerous."

Rainier cleared his throat, leaning against the door frame. "Now, now, I know as well as any of you do how dangerous these people are. I was there at the docks, if you've forgotten. Alongside that- they make my race look bad. No one here would like to see them taken care of as I do... _do they_?"

His gaze locked onto Blake's challengingly.

Ruby's eyes shot back to Blake as well, before turning forwards again. "I mean... I guess. We don't have a lot to go on right now. But... if you guys really want to help, I guess we can't say no."

Daria stepped forwards, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "We'll be fine. We want to see these go down just as much as you guys do, Rainier. Sides, what kind of friends would we be if we let you guys go fighting criminals by yourself?"

"...Really crummy friends." Ruby shot back, voice lightening.

"That's it. We just wanted to come and let you know that we're in, whether you guys want us too or not."

"Well... I guess-"

"Aha, one more thing," Rainier cut in. "Before we leave. Miss Belladonna," He added, getting the dark-haired girl to jolt in surprise. "A question. If I may."

She took a few steps forwards, arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah?"

"What exactly did you do before coming to Beacon? Please, spare no details."

The room seemed to chill with a sudden thick tension, their respective teams turning towards the two golden-eyed huntsmen- DRGN's in confusion, RWBY's in shock.

"I..." She began uncertainly, breaking eye contact with him. "It's... not important."

Daria nudged her teammate. "Rain, stop being nosy."

"What's the concern?" He asked, eyes not leaving Blake's. "I had thought it an innocent question. It should beckon an innocent answer, no? All of you could give a perfectly innocent answer."

"Rainier."

"Yes?"

"What's your deal?"

His smug expression slowly turned to stone, all mirth fading from it. "Ah, I don't blame you. I hadn't noticed it at first either, though I feel silly for not putting it together. It wasn't until that I met with that lovely barista that it all began to make sense."

"Rainier." Blake said warningly, finally meeting his cold gaze again.

"She's a faunus."

Daria blinked, looking back and forth between them. "...Oh. Okay?"

Nash gasped. "Is- is that- is that why you wear the super cute bow?!"

Blake didn't answer, hard eyes locked onto her fellow faunus'.

Rainier took his weight off of the doorframe, taking a step into the huntress' room, the rest of RWBY tensing in confusion, their gazes switching back and forth between the duo. "Why were you there at the docks that night? What personal interest brought you there? What did you say to those White Fang before Sun, Lance, and I saved you?"

"Hey, what exactly is your problem, dude?" Yang asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a disapproving frown.

Weiss nodded, eyebrows furrowing. "Agreed; you're doing a poor job of being a better person."

The dark-haired huntress sighed, turning towards her teammates. "Yang... it's okay," She turned back to the Vacuoan, taking another deep, steadying breath. "...A long time ago, I was a part of the White Fang."

The room went dead quiet, three quarters of DRGN stiffening in shock, mouths agape, looking back and forth between the two faunus.

Rainier's face, however, went through a lightning-fast series of emotions, lips momentarily curling up into a furious snarl, before fading in sadness, then finally settling back into its cool reservedness. "Well... there it is."

"I know," She said, stepping forwards to stand beside a befuddled Ruby. "And I realize what that means. It took me too long to figure out what the White Fang had become. But that's why I'm- we're doing this. They need to be stopped. I get that now."

The Vacuoan said nothing, normally jovial demeanor instead chiseled in stone; though his pale yellow eyes, emotive as ever, were boring into her more vivid golden orbs, dark with distrust.

Daria edged him out of the way. "Blake-" The faunus jolted out of her staredown, turning towards the shorter huntress. "It's okay."

"...Thanks." Blake said quietly, slowly backing away from the door, closer to Weiss and Yang, gaze not again meeting Rainier's.

Ruby sighed, patting Daria's shoulder, ushering both her and Rainier out.

"...Okay. Good talk. We'll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight."

The door closed without the other leader getting a chance to return the farewell.

"Oh. Alright," Daria muttered. "Goodnight."

"So many questions!" Nash suddenly cried out, getting Daria to hiss at him to be quiet.

She raised an eyebrow at the faunus in question. "No, but seriously, what was that about?"

Rainier shook his head. "It's not important."

"You sure?"

"Of course. Would I ever lie to you?"

* * *

Team RWBY stood, staring at the door for a long few moments.

"He's so strange." Weiss finally said, breaking the silence.

"If that's what you want to call him," Yang muttered, looking sidelong at her partner. "You good, Blake?"

"...Yeah." The faunus said after a moment.

"He got pretty intense there for a second."

"...Yeah. I'm going to bed."

"Hey," Yang said, cutting her off. "We've got your back, you know that, right?"

That brought a tiny smile to the girl's face. "...Thanks, Yang."

"And, if I need to, I'll totally kick his ass."

"I... don't think that's how it would go."

"I take it back, we're no longer friends and I'm kicking you off the team."

Blake chuckled as she laid back down. "...Thanks, Yang."

The other girls followed suit, the lights going out- but not before Weiss

stepped up on her bed to look at Ruby. "Hey." She whispered.

"Yeah?" Her leader shot back.

"Do you think it was a good idea involving them?"

"...Well... Why not?"

"I like them... maybe not as much as you guys do, but nonetheless. Think about it; the more people we get involved, the more likely this is to get to Ozpin, and he's the only one who can really stop us."

"Oh, pssh. They ain't snitches."

Weiss shook her head as she lay down. "If you say so."

* * *

Vegas Gold craned his neck, popping it as he surveyed the scene, crouched high above the street. He hummed thoughtfully, putting a hand to his earpiece.

"Oh, Cinder."

After a moment, her familiarly smooth voice called back, " _Yes, Goldie_?"

"Dunno the circumstances, but some more kids just got out with a meeting with yours and Roman's precious Red."

" _Oh_?"

"They were there for a hot minute."

" _Have you maybe considered that maybe they're just kids being kids_?"

"The wolf was there."

" _Ah... now that_ is _interesting_."

"More pieces to add to the table?"

" _Maybe... or... well, if they do get involved... it might make a good stress reliever for you_."

"Ooh, I like that idea. Is Phase 2 started yet?"

" _Not quite. Just a few last minute preparations from the good headmaster. We'll let you know when we are. Sleep tight, Goldie_."

"Always." He muttered as the line went dead, turning his gaze from Beacon, to the shattered moon high above, sitting back down in his collapsible chair, munching nonchalantly on a bag of chips. "Sleep tight."


	13. Chapter 2: To Catch a Criminal

Chapter 2: To Catch a Criminal

* * *

The clock ticked on seemingly neverendingly, black minute hand inching towards the top of the hour, somehow slowing as the seconds passed. Daria stifled a groan, dark eyes glued to the stark white clock face, finger tapping the top of the table- before stopping.

Weiss glared at her friend, clutching the hand tightly. "I _will_ remove it."

The leader of DRGN ripped her limb free, frowning. "You just don't know how to ask nicely, do you."

"The only worse thing you could have been doing was clicking a pen."

"Don't tempt me."

Rainier snorted and shot awake into a sitting position, blinking out of sync, yellow irises hazy. "Are we done?" He muttered.

"Not even close." Daria shot back.

"How are you even _passing_?" Ruby asked across the other two girls with a frown, silver eyes locked onto Rainier's expectantly.

He leaned over his leader towards the short huntress conspiratorially. "Well... I'm not." He booped her on the nose, before returning to her seat. Ruby wiggled her nose, stifling a sneeze as Weiss rolled her eyes, the heiress simply returning her attention to the teacher prattling on about mathematics below.

Yang drummed her fingers on the bannister in front of her, sitting a row above the others alongside Blake and Gail. "So..." She muttered, leaning down towards her friends. "Official crimestopper meeting at Dorm RWBY after class?"

"Ooh!" Nash said excitably, turning towards his fellow blonde less discretely. "We gonna fight crime?!"

"...Yeah, Nash," She said, smile thinning slightly. "We've talked about this."

"Oh, pssh, I don't listen-"

"Mr. Aspis!" The teacher called. "You seem to be excited to share. I don't suppose you could walk us through the rest of this problem?"

The boy blinked owlishly as he turned on his heel, plopping back down into his seat, staring with confused blue eyes at the blackboard far below. "Oh! I... well, y'see..." He went silent for a moment, cocking his head to the side, resting it on his arm casually. "You've gotta… well, I was gonna say put those two together and something'll happen, but nah, that's just a buncha random numbers. Maybe try a circle- but, nah, that's just stupid. A 72 degree angle does show up in a star, which could be, like, a pentagon, so the answer's got the golden ratio in there somewhere,"

Slowly, his teammates began to look over at the bored boy in various states of shock.

"Somethin' bout the law of sines? I dunno, that last side could be in two different places. You get the golden ratio from a quadratic equation, so, that's, like 'y' equals the square root of two divided by two... no, naw, it's square root of five divided by two minus one-over-two."

The teacher stared up at him for a moment, before turning back to the board, finishing the problem out for herself. She was silent for a moment, before turning back to Nash. She dropped her papers on her desk and shrugged. "Go home, you guys. You're good to go."

The class wasted no time shooting to their feet, rushing from the lecture hall, some clapping the boy on his shoulder as they passed. His friends, however, simply stared at him in shock as they rose to leave as well. Nash, for his part, didn't seem to concerned with their attention, walking with a skip in his step to the halls.

"Man," He called out, stretching languidly. "I thought that class was gonna _never_ end."

Rainier and Daria shared a look as he continued to walk away. Yang muscled in between them, leaning down to Daria's level and gestured furiously at her. "I am kidnapping him and he is doing my math homework for the rest of the semester, you got that?"

The shorter huntress snorted. "Knock yourself out."

"And how could you be failing with him as a reference at any given time?!" Weiss demanded, marching up to the Vacuoan faunus.

He gave her a noncommitted shrug. "Mostly? I simply block him out. It's done wonders for my sleep schedule."

"I'm onto you," The heiress muttered. "Your laziness will not stand."

Daria snorted, but said nothing else.

* * *

"Today's the day, friends!" Ruby yelled out suddenly, making the other seven students jump in surprise. "The investigation finally begins!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see that we're taking this so seriously."

"Hey!" Yang said, offended. "We've got a... mostly serious plan."

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby called out, looking over her friends.

Weiss nodded. "You, Gail and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm family, it shouldn't be a problem."

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in there, hopefully I can find out what they're planning." Blake added.

Yang raised her hand. "I've got an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Rainier and I'll stop by there. Might get hairy, but getting information out of him shouldn't be… too hard."

"And Nash and I'll head into the city, check in with the shop owners that got robbed, see if there's anything that the cops missed." Daria finished, arms crossed over her chest.

Ruby, though, frowned. "Shouldn't someone go with Blake? That could be dangerous."

The dark haired huntress shook her head. "It'd have to be a faunus-"

" _Like Rainier_." Daria said, cutting her off, giving both huntsmen in question a pointed, raised eyebrow.

The duo were silent for a moment, yellow eyes meeting, the Vacuoan opening his mouth with a counterpoint, when-

"Not a bad idea!"

All eight huntsmen jumped as they turned to the window; hanging upside down in the frame was Sun Wukong, tanned face split with a grin, golden furred tail wrapped around something out of sight.

" _Sun_!" Blake yelled, bristling in irritation.

Yang tilted her head curiously. "How did you get up there?"

The monkey faunus shrugged. "It's easy; I do it all the time."

"You do _what_?!" Weiss shot back, a distrustful scowl painted across her face.

Sun flipped into the room, landing smoothly. "I climb trees all the time. So, we finally getting back at the jerk with the stupid hat?"

Ruby sent a look at the two teams, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Sun. We don't really wanna get more friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psh, that's dumb!" He turned back to the window. "You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune."

Daria and Ruby edged forward, staring out the window; lo and behold, the blue-haired huntsman was standing on the ledge just out of view, leaning against the wall coolly. "Sup."

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways." Neptune shoot back nonchalantly.

Daria raised an eyebrow. "... _Boo_."

The Mistrali huntsman jumped in surprise, giving her a wide-eyed look for a moment, before adding nervously. "Okay, fine, please let me in, we're really high up right now."

The team leaders stepped to the side as Neptune jumped in, slightly panicked.

* * *

The now ten huntsmen stood in a loose circle around the dorm, all looking suitably impatient with the process unfolding before them.

Ruby nodded. "Alright! un, you can go with Blake, and Neptune and Rainier can go with Yang."

Neptune shrugged, letting the shorter huntress push him over to Yang and Rainier's side.

"Sir Vasilias."

"Sir Platina."

The duo exchanged head nods, shaking hands for a moment, before leaning against the wall, arms crossed coolly over their chests, zoning out of the conversation at hand.

Weiss' eyes, however, shot back and forth between them, brightening in interest. She blinked slowly. "Ac…tually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang, and Gail can go with Daria and Nash?"

The leader of RWBY frowned. "But, Weiss, who would you go with?"

"Well, if you're going with your sister, you two would have everything handled- I mean, if you don't need them, Neptune and Rainier could always come with me. It's a nothing assignment anyways."

The former huntsman gave her a charming smile and duel finger guns, while the latter conversely gave her a mildly shocked, impressed look, hand going to his chest and mouthing in surprise, _'me_?'

Ruby stared at them for a few moments, before bursting out into laughter. "Hahahaha, _nah_." She grabbed Weiss by her collar and pulled her down the hall, still laughing. Gail dutifully followed after them silently.

The remaining huntsmen watched the trio leave, before turning to each other.

Daria sighed, shaking her head. "Fine, whatever, let's just hurry up and do this."

The remaining seven took off after the expedition's leader.

* * *

Gail wringed her hands together as she and her companions marched towards the base of Beacon Tower, where the CCT System was located, towering above the surrounding campus like a monolith. Her eyes trailed up its length, letting out a nervous breath.

Ruby, though, was brimming with excitement, bouncing around the other two, silver eyes bright. "Woooow! I forgot how big the tower looks this close!"

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss said smugly, arms crossed as they made their way towards it.

"That was the _first_ one, right?"

"Correct." Weiss and Gail said in unison. The Atlesian blinked in mild surprise, turning to Gail with a cocked head. The archer, looking equally surprised at her outburst, averted her gaze to the ground, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." The heiress said in interest, looking her companion up and down.

"G-Gail. Cerulean." The lone member of DRGN stammered out, swallowing hard.

The Atlesian curtsied to the archer. "Weiss Schnee, heiress of-"

"Oookay, Weiss, that's good." Ruby cut in, pushing the heiress onwards.

"I was just introducing myself!"

"Aaaand you did. Mission accomplished."

"I was just-"

"' _Oooh, look at me, my name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich_!'" Ruby said in a falsetto high voice, before snickering at the Atlesian's frown.

"Don't be a pest!" The pale girl snapped irritatedly. "Besides, the only reason we're all here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call at the library!"

"I knooow, but it's so cool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!"

Ruby fished her Scroll from her pocket, raising it up with a grin at the tower- with far too much momentum, though, the device tumbling from her hands as she let out a squeak of shock, dashing after the Scroll.

Before sliding to a stop, looking up at the girl standing in front of her.

The ginger girl blinked in surprise, looking down at the dropped Scroll. "Oh!" She picked it up, offering it over to the short huntress. "You dropped this."

The leader of RWBY blinked in shock. "... _Penny_?!"

Penny blinked, before her eyes widened, as if just placing Ruby's face. "...Uh..."

"Where have you been?! We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!"

Gail and Weiss exchanged a confused glance, the latter crossing her arms, while the former began inching towards the Tower.

"S-sorry," Penny stammered out, waving her hands in front of her. "I think you're confused-" She hiccupped, the Scroll falling out of her hands and into Ruby's. "Uh... I've got to go!" Without another word, the girl turned on her heel, hurriedly marching away.

Weiss blinked. "What was that about?"

Ruby was already going after Penny. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!"

" _Wait_!" Weiss yelled, reaching out a hand towards her team leader, before sighing, letting it fall. She turned to Gail, the archer instantly stiffening. "Well, we're already here. Come on."

* * *

The two huntresses stepped out of the elevator into the communications room, the room itself sprawling, littered with dozens of glowing green terminals, a handful of people sat at the computers, in the midst of video calls with others. The two girls walked up to the front desk, a hologram secretary sitting behind it, smiling pleasantly at them.

A series of beeps greeted them, before the AI cocked her head to the side. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss said, voice assuming a well-practiced formal tone.

"Absolutely," The hologram looked down for a moment. "If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you!" The Atlesian said chipperly, waving for Gail to follow her in. Her smile dropped as they passed the front desk. "We could have simply just made the call at the library, but no, Ruby _insisted_ on coming out here- and then she ditches us! That girl sometimes,"

Gail offered the heiress a small, supportive smile as her pale eyes turned towards her.

"In the meanwhile," Weiss continued as they neared their Terminal. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The archer jolted as the conversation turned from her, looking out towards the walls, searching very carefully for her words. "I-" She shook her head. "I'm just... not used to... being in places like this. T-That's all."

Weiss gave her a slightly suspicious look as she sat down. "Fine. You, just... stand... over there. Yes. There. Perfect," With Gail out of view of the screen, she took a deep, steadying breath, schooling her face back into a polite smile.

The screen came to life, a short-haired receptionist looking down at her desk as the call went through, a replica of Weiss' snowflake emblem spinning lazily behind her. "Thank you for calling the Atlas-" She jolted in surprise as she looked up. "Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well!"

"No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss said brightly, placing her Scroll into a slot on the keyboard.

"I... see," The operator muttered. "If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?"

The heiress' eyes shot over to Gail for a split second. "Oh, school project."

"Um... there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

Weiss smiled. "Then I'll be sure to handle them with care."

"...Right... very well. The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

The huntress smiled, rising to her feet and giving her partner a very unimpressed, pointed look, aimed towards the operator. "Wonderful. That will be all, then."

Before she could properly leave, however, the woman called over to her, "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

Weiss' smile dropped for a split second, before coming back to her face. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, then, have a nice day!"

The call ended, and the Atlesian sighed, before turning towards Gail with a raised eyebrow. "...I'm lucky you're quiet."

The archer gave her a tiny, forced, nervous chuckle.

* * *

Yang and her bike slowed to a stop, pulling a matching bright gold helmet from her head. She looked around the shady street for a moment, a grin splitting her face. "Alright!" She called out. "We're here!"

There was a blur of movement, and Rainier fell from the sky, landing smoothly onto the asphalt below. He gave her a raised eyebrow as he looked around. "...Well... I've been to seedier places."

"And that's why I brought you." She said, giving him a wink and duel finger-guns.

He, however, leaned around the blonde warrior. "Is... he alright, Miss Xiao Long?"

Neptune was looking less than kosher, sat behind Yang; his face a mask of terror and disorientation, blue hair ruffled around his head. "I'm... cool..." He muttered, before shaking his head. "And where is here, exactly?"

"Somewhere dark, and terrible, that harbors a secret very few men and women have the guts to gaze upon," Rainier muttered lowly. "Legend has it-"

"Yeah, no, that's enough," The Mistrali warrior said, climbing off of the bike and holding his hands up in an 'X'. "I'm good without creepy eldritch nightclubs."

Yang rolled her eyes as she began marching towards the building's entrance. "Oh come on, you big baby. Right inside."

As the trio neared the building, the low thrumming of EDM began to be audible, the frame of the doors glowing with bright lights.

"Hurry, close the door! She's coming!" Someone yelled from the inside, the distant sounds of panic spilling out into the street.

The blonde huntress grinned, giving her teammates a coy look; cocked her fist; and threw a shotgun-aided punch at the double doors, a small explosion sending them flying open, two familiarly black-suited thugs flying away.

"Guess who's back!"

Only a chorus of guns cocking greeted her, a large handful of guards, or henchmen, aiming their weapons at her indignantly. She, however, didn't flinch, instead turning her glare up to the stage, staring the DJ down. He slowly reached up and took the needle off of the record, the club plunging into tense silence.

"Yeah, so… could you define 'friend' for me?" Neptune asked quietly.  
A shell fell from Rainier's leg, a grin slowly splitting his face. "That's the thing. Friend. Such a _broad_ term. Give the word, Ms. Xiao Long."

"What is _wrong_ with you people?"

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot!" A man jostled his way through the crowd; he was tall, and stocky, dressed in a black dress shirt, black vest, black gloves, pants, and boots, and a red tie- which he adjusted as he walked up. "Blondie, you're here!" He stared at her for a moment. " _Why_?"

Yang smirked. "You still owe me a drink," She grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the bar. "Chill out for bit, guys. This'll take _juuust_ a minute."

Neptune whistled. "What a woman."

"Careful, my friend," Rainier said, sitting down in an unoccupied booth as the music resumed, crossing his legs. "There's a reason she's not part of the game."

"Game? What game?"

The faunus sighed, holding his hands out above him. "Ah, a game of challenge, risk, intrigue, romance. Tis a game for the charming-"

"No more words, I want in."

"I'll see what I can do," Rainier shot back with a charming grin as Neptune joined him. "In the meanwhile- come! Have a drink with me. Non-alcoholic, granted, but a drink nonetheless. "I've been curious for quite a minute of who exactly Neptune Vasilias is!"

* * *

Daria sighed as she and Nash exited the Dust shop. "And... bust."

"Aw, come on," The boy said, jostling her shoulder with his. "I's fun! Like a fantasy game where you gotta run around town!"

"I don't... really play games, Nash."

"Oh. I's like! ...A..." His face fell. "This is so _boooring_."

"And _there_ he is," She muttered as the partners continued to march along. She turned over her shoulder to where Phalanx was walking on dutifully behind them, humming softly with energy. "Did we really need to bring him, though?"

"Aw, you never know," He shot back, hands folded behind his head, eyes closed. "Sides- maybe we could use him to intimidate people!"

"Why would-"

"You think that's our problem? We're too cute."

" _Cute_."

"We're little munchkins."

"I... that's..." She faltered as she looked down at him. "I think that's the most self-aware I've ever seen you."

"Mmhm. Mama always said that I was cute as a button. And so are you! We're just not intimidatin'."

"Well... you're not wrong."

The duo continued on in silence as Daria led the way, following the directions offered by her Scroll.

"Hey, Daria?" Nash asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, bud?"

"You think we're good?"

That made her hesitate, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Us. DRGN. You think we're good?"

"I... yeah- why, what's up?"

He shrugged, face losing a tint of its usual exuberance. "I dunno. It's, just- like. SOUL's super good, right? They're really, really good. And RWBY are really good too! And JNPR's, like, three-fourths good. Are... we that good?"

"What- of course we are," She put a hand on his shoulder. "What's up, bud?"

"I dunno. I's like, we don't get along as well, and we don't hang out as much, and I can't fight, and Gail can't fight, and Rainier's kinda sorta not there, and you're trying really, really hard and I just feel like we're lettin' you down, and maybe we're not as good as-"

She pulled him into a hug, shaking her head. "Shut up. We've just... got a late start. We'll get there; so you hush on that."

"Kay."

Without another word, they continued on, her arm thrown over his shoulder and holding him next to her.

* * *

Rainier bobbed his from side to side to the beat of the song, impatiently, before rolling his eyes. "Come on."

"Wait, she said-" Neptune said, frowning.

"Where's your sense of adventure, man!" The faunus called back, already stomping off after Yang. "Come then, don't be shy!"

The blue haired huntsman groaned, slowly sliding from the rather comfortable seat, begrudgingly following after his current teammate, the two huntsman picking their way through the crowd to the bar off to the side, Yang's trademark golden hair shining like a beacon.

They were still a good several meters from her and her 'friend' when they managed to pick up on the heated argument.

"I haven't talked to him!" The club owner exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back."

Rainier hummed as he and Neptune sat down. "Ah, so those were your men. So sorry about that."

"Also, where did they go?" The latter huntsman finished.

Junior stared at them for a few moments, dumbstruck. "…What kind of stupid question is that?! They never came back! And what do you mean, ' _sorry about that_ '- who- who _are_ these guys?"

Yang leaned forwards so that she was between him and her companions. "Don't worry about them; worry about me if I don't find out what I want."

"I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them- which is SOMETHING I CAN RELATE TO!" He yelled, turning his attention to his men.

Yang sighed. "Come on, guys." With a shake of her head, she rose to her feet, the huntsmen following after her as they marched to the exit of the club.

"Literally anything?" Rainier asked, voice a touch softer than usual, speeding up to walk beside her, pale yellow eyes curious.

The lone huntress only sighed again. "Well… we got everything we can. Hopefully everyone else is having better luck."

* * *

Phalanx beeped out surprisingly urgently once, getting Daria to jump in shock. "What the- you stupid-"

"Right." Nash said quietly, turning on his heel and ushering his leader down an alleyway, just wide enough for the mech to enter as well, blocking the entrance.

Daria frowned at her partner as he rather hurriedly led them through the alley, brilliant blue eyes cast to the rooftops. "Nash, hon, what's-"

"We're being followed."

"How do you know?"

"My suit can track auras, silly."

"...Okay... and?"

"Ya hear that beep Phalanx made? That means that a huntsman showed up on his radar."

Daria slowed slightly, mulling the thought over, before blinking in realization. "...Then where are they?"

Nash nodded in agreement. "Phalanx, who's got that aura?"

"... _Not found_." The mech droned back.

"Where they at?"

_"...Ten meters to the right and... twenty meters up_."

"Ooh that ain't good."

The duo picked up their pace, Daria's Infinitas shooting into her hands. "Okay," She muttered quietly. "Here's the plan- you-"

" _Everyone, if you can hear me, we need back_ -" Blake called out urgently from the huntsmen's scrolls.

" _HEEEELLLLP_!" Sun added helpfully. " _Big robot_!" The faunus continued. " _And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it, or something_!"

"Well, that's as good of an excuse as any," Daria muttered. "Up?"

Nash nodded in agreement, climbing up and into Phalanx as she latched onto the mech's back. With a few bounding steps, the construct leapt into the air with the aid of its thrusters-

And the huntsmen caught the barest glimpse of gold before rocketing onwards towards the freeway.

* * *

"Where are you guys?" Yang asked through her Scroll, Bumblebee racing along the streets, weaving in and out of the other vehicles littering the road.

She didn't need an answer.

Like a bull in a china shop, a hulking silver mech went charging across a street perpendicular to them, a suspiciously familiar panicked scream preceding it.

"I think that was them." Neptune said calmly.

"Yeah, I got it!" Yang called out, skidding to a stop and turning on a dime, speeding off. Her gaze shot to the rooftops- where Rainier was running, similarly turning on his heel, the duo exchanging nods before racing off after their friends.

* * *

Nash barreled across the highway, Phalanx's massive arms pumping hard as the mech whirled around the cars honking irritatedly about him, glowing visor locked firmly onto the opposing mech ahead of him, and Blake and Sun further ahead, leaping from car to car in their frenzied escape. Daria, for her part, simply swung wildly from side to side, clutching onto her partner's mech for dear life.

"I've got him!" Phalanx yelled out, thrusters activating as he prepared for a final leap, leaving the ground after Roman's mech.

And then the thrusters ceased, the internal display of the red-armored robot blaring angrily at Nash. The mech- and its rider- came to a screeching stop, Daria going flying away, hitting the asphalt hard, rolling several meters further.

The sudden stop barely saved Phalanx from the falling blur of gold, a glowing golden sword leading the fall, carving through the highway as if it was nothing. The man leapt to his feet, pulling his sword free, and kicked off of the red mech, sending him hurtling further up the highway, coming to a skidding stop halfway between the two huntsmen. Daria rose to her feet, eyes narrowed at the newcomer.

Vegas Gold turned a victorious grin from Phalanx, to the short huntress, cocking his head to the side with an audible pop. "Welcome to the show, kiddos!"

And he charged at her, Dragon's Fang held high.

* * *

Rainier leapt through the air like a blur of silver, yellow eyes locked hard onto Roman's mech- a gunshot propelled him through the air faster, and he rocketed into the Paladin's side, nearly taking it off of its feet from the blow, kicking off to land onto the asphalt, sparks flying into the air.

"Oh, great, and now the wolf is here!" Roman barked out, turning the mech's gaze to the faunus.

Weiss suddenly leapt up from below, landing onto the highway with Myrtenaster high at the mech, her eyes meeting Rainier's for a split second.

The crime boss growled, turning towards her. "Fine!" He charged ahead, passed the faunus, Rainier already poised to take off after him- instead, the heiress simply plunged her rapier into the ground, a circle of ice covering the pavement. The mech lost its footing, falling through the air, over Weiss- then over the railing, tumbling to fall to the ground far below.

Rainier jogged up to where Weiss was standing at the railing. "Mind if join, my dear?"

She gave him an upturned glance. "You may. Just don't get in the way of any of our team attacks."

"Dear Miss Schnee, I'm hurt! I am an _excellent_ dancer!"

"We'll see about that." With that, the Atlesian leapt from the highway, falling after the mech and where the rest of her team was waiting below.

Rainier moved to follow after her- before stalling with a frown, looking back up towards the way they had come. He caught the deep red of Phalanx, the white of Daria- and an unfamiliar golden blur dancing around the duo with ease.

He hissed in a breath. "Bollocks." Without a second thought, he turned on his heel, racing back up the road to his teammates.

* * *

Vegas swung down hard at Daria, narrowly missing as the diminutive leader scrambled away, ringblades held up to defend herself. The criminal went for another wild slash, but feinted at the last moment, leaping up and to the side as Phalanx came crashing down next to him, the pavement shattering under the mech's fist. Gold shot back with a wide swipe, glowing blade carving a distressingly deep gash into the red armor. A surprised smile claimed his face as he hit the ground rolling, looking at the two huntsmen- Daria rising to her feet, grimacing at her opponent, while Nash simply turned his head and looked down at the wound in surprise.

"Look at you two!" He laughed out. "Just a couple of odd ducks. Not made of the sternest stuff, huh, little man?"

Phalanx growled, moving to take a step forwards. Daria, though, raised a hand, getting him to stop. "Who the hell are you, and why are you attacking us?!"

The killer sighed, a hand going to his heart. "That's refreshing, I'm not gonna lie. Not many people ask who I am... they mostly stop at _why_."

"Oh I hate you so much."

He shrugged. "Truthfully, I could be more upset about it. You two, after all, aren't gonna live more than a couple minutes, so digest that as you will," With that, Vegas began marching forwards again, taking his time. Then he stopped, golden eyes going wide. "What the _f_ -"

He wasn't give a chance to finish the thought as a silver blur shot from between the two huntsman, colliding with the killer, a cannon shot sending him flying away. Rainier hit the ground, sparks flying into the air, yellow eyes meeting gold as he scowled. "Do we know this man?"

"No clue." Daria muttered.

"Good. Then no one will mind if I rough him up a little, no?"

"Knock yourself out, dude."

Rainier charged forwards, Phalanx falling behind him, and Daria further back, the trio racing towards the snarling killer. Gold raised his blade up at the last moment, silver metal sliding across gold as the faunus went flying passed, hitting the ground and turning on his heel. Phalanx took the chance to throw a heavy punch, missing as the criminal leapt into the air, planting his boots onto the mech's massive shoulders, pushing off, Dragon's Fang aimed towards Daria as he fell.

He didn't make it, though, a massive hand gripping his ankle and bringing him crashing back into the ground, the pavement shattering under the blow. Rainier was to his side in a heartbeat, leaping up and spinning, silver claws coming down hard onto the killer's back, the asphalt further spider-webbing under impact. Phalanx ripped him back up into the air, tossing him back the way they'd came.

The body of the killer nearly impacted Daria, only missing as she leapt into the air, letting him slide beneath her- and then struck out with both boots, crushing him between her and the highway. She herself, though, lost her balance, stumbling as she returned to the ground.

Vegas took the opportunity to scramble to his feet, tackling the much smaller girl to the ground, pinning her under his weight. He turned furious golden eyes back up to the two approaching huntsman, his blade aimed directly towards her sternum. "I'D STOP THERE," He roared. "UNLESS YOU WANNA SEE HOW WELL DRAGON'S FANG CUTS THROUGH AURA!"

The duo skid to a stop, Rainier's eyes locking onto Daria's. He gave her a tiny shrug- before jolting in surprise. "My friend!" The faunus called out, beginning to saunter forwards. "Perhaps there has been a mistake-"

"Oh, no mistake!" Vegas snapped back. "I'm killin' you all, one way or another!"

"Perhaps that was the mistake!" The Vacuoan gasped in realization.

That made the killer hesitate, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Then a great arrow collided with his side, encasing his entire left side in ice. He let out a cry as went tumbling from Daria, the impact shattering the ice, but leaving his off-arm trembling in coldness.

He looked passed the recovering huntress, the short girl sucking in a breath as her Infinitas shot back to her hands, glaring furiously at her opponent. Further down the highway, looking equally incensed, was Gail; greatbow planted into the pavement, another hulking arrow nocked, this time glowing orange. Daria, recovered, held her blades out at him, pulsating earnestly with green energy.

"It's like you guys multiply," Vegas hissed, looking around at Team DRGN surrounding him. He rolled his eyes as he cautiously rose to his feet. He let out a bitter laugh, leaning against the railing. "You think they're done then- ohp! Another one shows up. Fine! Sorry, kids, you'll have to see that trick next time!"

Then he plummeted off of the highway. The four huntsmen all rushed to the railing, peering down to the ground far below.

Nothing.

Rainier, Gail, and Nash rushed to Daria's side, the former putting his hands on her shoulders. "Dearest Daria, you alright?"

She rubbed the spot on her chest Dragon's Fang had touched soothingly, frowning to herself. "I would have been fine. Guy had barely touched me before that."

"I... right. Nash? Are you alright?"

There was a beat of silence, before- the boy's head replaced Phalanx's. "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

The other three stared at him in various states of awe.

"Yeah, that sums up my day." Daria muttered, sourly stomping away from her teammates, returning her blades to their hooks.

* * *

"So, golden dude with a glowing sword." Yang summed up.

"And garbage references to boot." Daria finished.

"Ouch."

The two teams were gathered back in Team RWBY's dorm room, lazily- and tiredly- lounging around in different states.

"And I didn't lose!" The short girl snapped. "It was just a moment of confusion."

"No one said that you lost..." Ruby muttered.

"You're not helping!"

"Gah why are you always yelling?!"

"And whattabout you guys?" Nash asked, spinning in his appropriated office chair. "Didya get robo-guy?"

Yang sighed. "Nah. He got away. And a new sidekick."

"Ooh new villains!" All eyes turned to the boy. "Wha? Love a good villain faction."

"Nash, these villains are trying to kill us." Daria offered softly.

"Oh, pssh, we're good. We're practically gods!"

"Top ten words said before disaster." Ruby said quietly.

"You need to be more serious about this," Blake prodded, leaning towards Nash. "These are dangerous people."

"Uh huh."

"You're not even listening to me."

"Yes I am."

The faunus shook her head tiredly, turning away from the boy.

Gail leaned forwards, nudging Rainier to get his attention. "You... didn't see the guy? At the docks, I mean?"

The Vacuoan shook his head. "Maybe... though, I'm not entirely certain. But, perhaps- Miss Belladonna, how about you? You were there longer than I was, after all."

"I didn't see him." The girl in question muttered, turning mistrustful eyes to her fellow faunus.

_"A shame."_

"Uh..." Ruby said, eyes shifting back and forth between the two huntsmen.

"Hey, how 'bout that pun Weiss made?!"

"Oh gods." Yang muttered.

"I tried, okay?!" The heiress snapped, hitting her fists against her legs. "It was a decent pun!"

"No," The blonde shot back. "It wasn't! I've heard Oracle make better puns than that!"

"What was the pun, exactly?" Rainier asked, turning away from Blake.

"Well!" The heiress began, straightening up. "When he got away- he had his minion and one of them created some sort of illusion that shattered when Yang hit it. And I said-"

"' _Well that sure made our plan fall apart_!'" Ruby called out in falsetto.

"When you say it like that it sounds terrible!"

Rainier slowly turned from the duo to his own leader. "Dearest Daria, I think it's time we left."

She snickered. "Oh come on-"

"No we need to go, right now, immediately."

Nash frowned. "I don't get it."

* * *

Shinai closed his eyes, hand wrapped around his blade's handle, other hand held up in front of him as he focused.

His opponent grit his teeth together, battleaxe held in a white knuckle grip, skirting around the side of the platform, eyes locked onto the samurai. Shinai rose slightly, his blade held backwards, parallel with his arm. The other boy looked off to the side, where Goodwitch was watching interestedly.

The samurai lifted his free hand, and gestured for his opponent to come to him.

The boy scowled, but charged forwards nonetheless, battleaxe raised high into the air, swinging it down with as much force as he could muster. Predictably, Shinai sidestepped the slower huntsman, swiping across his back, before twirling Shi En in his hand, taking two quick swipes at the boy's legs, before kicking his foot out from under him, taking a hard step forwards, throwing his weight into the larger warrior's.

The force of the tackle sent his opponent hurtling away, tumbling across the ground. He rolled back to his feet, charging forwards again in frustration. His axe swung through the air, missing as the samurai leapt vertically, one boot planted on the steel axehead, the other striking out to catch the bigger huntsman under the jaw, sending him stumbling away, free hand flying to his face.

Shinai hit the ground in a roll, springing forwards and going on the offensive, a flurry of swipes striking out with lightning fast precision against his opponent, almost sending him off of the stage entirely. The samurai's hand struck out, catching his opponent by his loose shirt, pulling him back towards the safety of the stage- before immediately striking out with the butt of his katana, sending the boy crashing into the ground. The Temple huntsman held Shi En across the back of his opponent's neck, a single eyebrow raised in silent questioning.

The other huntsman groaned, dropping his axe. "I yield."

"And, match." Goodwitch called out, the lights rising again. Shinai's eyes rose to the display high above, to the boy's dark orange aura bar; and his own brilliant green bar. The students in the stands applauded the two huntsmen as the samurai helped his opponent to his feet, giving him a small bow.

"You did well."

The other huntsman snorted. "Yeah. Sure."

"You rushed in when you should have been cautious, despite knowing that I was faster than you. You let your anger get the better of you and made stupid mistakes. Being foolhardy isn't the same as being courageous."

The boy frowned for a moment, preparing at retort... before his face fell, the advice mulling over in his mind. Instead, he simply sighed, and copied the samurai's gesture in a small bow, before marching from the stage.

"Well done, Mr. Kyani," Goodwitch praised, stepping up to join the samurai. "And Mr. Bulwark, you'd be wise to take his words to heart. Considering the length of that last match; would you like another round? Or would you rather let someone else shine."

Shinai thought it over for a moment, before bowing his head. "If you'd like me to, I'm more than willing to have another fight."

"Very well then," She turned her gaze to the crowd. "Do we have any other volunteers?"

The other students didn't make a single sound, not a soul moving.

"Very well. Then I suppose I'll have to choose an opponent," She continued to scan the crowd, before crossing her arms, shifting her weight onto one leg. "Mr. Platina!"

The students around the faunus all jolted, turning to look at him in anticipation. The Vacuoan himself hardly reacted, pale yellow eyes locked onto the stage's inhabitants.

"I'm certain you're raring for another fight with Shinai; your last fight certainly dazzled."

Daria leaned forwards, giving her friend a raised eyebrow, small, coy smile planted on her face.

"No."

The leader of DRGN blinked, the word taking a moment to process in her mind.

Rainier, though, had never turned from Shinai and Goodwitch, crossing his arms and kicking his feet up onto the bannister.

"Are you certain?" Goodwitch asked curiously, head cocked to the side.

"Always." The word was growled between grit teeth, the faunus' hands subconsciously tightening into fists.

Daria pulled on his sleeve, leaning forwards. "I didn't think you turned down challenges."

He said nothing.

"Alright then," Goodwitch said, scanning the crowd again. "Ah, Ms. Kassandra, you've impressed lately. Would you like to have a round with Mr. Kyani?"

"I- uh- sure. Why not. What's the worst that can happen." A girl muttered as she rose from her feet, making her way down to the stage.

Shinai, however, never took his eyes off of Rainier, narrowed in confusion.

Rainier himself, never looked away either, face carefully blank as he chewed on nothing more than a thought, ignoring the looks of those around him.


	14. Chapter 3: Minutes to Midnight

Chapter 3: Minutes to Midnight

* * *

The huntsmen sat quietly, and peacefully around the fountain; some lounging on the bench, others on the ground.

"This is nice," Jaune said, popping a fry into his mouth. "This feels right."

"We don't eat in the cafeteria anymore," Daria muttered. "If we eat together, we eat out here."

A chorus of agreements echoed out over their heads, and as soon as the silence was broken, it resumed, only the quiet sounds of the students eating and the trickling of the fountain.

Nora, though, swiftly looked back and forth between her friends, biting her lip, shaking with energy, shimmying to and fro. "...Guys." She whispered.

Lance was the first to look up, worry and confusion washing over him as he took the huntress in. "Nora, you-"

"THE DANCE!" She yelled out, throwing her head back with the call.

Rainier stared at her, shying away slightly. "...Are you quite alright?"

"The _daaance_ …" She whispered, looking absolutely ecstatic.

Weiss sighed. "Don't remind me, we still haven't even finished preparing for it."

"We still need the speakers, the table, something to put punch in, and a permit to block off the streets around Beacon, although I don't think we're going to manage that last one," Yang said. "But if people don't start coughing up the stuff we're renting, I'm going to start taking knee caps."

"Oh, hon, you don't have the time for that." Oracle said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, but it makes me feel better to say it out loud."

Nora's smile dropped, a pout claiming her face, arms crossing angrily over her chest. "You guys are no fun. Ren, they're no fun."

The ninja simply hummed in response, not taking his eyes from his food, munching happily away.

"Wait..." Nash said quietly, face falling. "What dance?"

All eyes turned to the boy. Daria leaned towards him. "The dance? The big dance- we're celebrating the Vytal Festival coming up?"

"The Vytal who-wuh now?"

"The- The Vytal Festival, Nash! We applied for the tournament."

"Oooh!"

"Aha!" Lance said, pointing towards the leader. "You are applying for the tournament."

"Lance," Rainier said, giving his friend a glance. " _I_ am on her team."

"Yeah, fair enough."

"I think the better question... are _you_ applying?"

Oracle let out a laugh. "Applied and were accepted! We're already in, y'all!"

Rainier's face began to split into a satisfied smile, before he schooled it back into cool indifference, his eyes flitting over to Shinai brightly, before drawing himself back into the conversation. " _Excellent_."

"Oh, yeah, so are we." Ruby said, finally tuning into the conversation.

"As are we," Pyrrha hummed, tending dutifully to her meal. "I'm very happy to hear that we'll all be fighting!"

"Wait," Daria said. "You guys already got accepted?" An uncertain chorus of affirmatives murmured back to her. "Bull! I haven't heard anything from Oz!"

"It will come," Rainier said. "We'll irritate him until he gives in. That appears to be our group's special ability."

"Yeah!" Nash said, raising a fist in the air. "Wait."

"Never change, my friend."

"So the dance coming up, we've got the holiday missions in a couple of weeks, we've got finals before too long- then the festival starts, and we'll finally make it to the tournament!" Yang said, listing off on her fingers. "Gods, I love second semester."

"I'm _sorry_?" Blake spat, shooting to her feet. "Have we just _forgotten_ about the White Fang?"

"Blake I didn't-"

"No! You're all just going on like everything's fine! Everything's not fine! They're still out there, they're still plotting- to hell with school, and the dance, and the tournament!"

"Tell me, do you think that dying at the hands of your brothers and sisters will somehow redeem you?" Rainier asked, reclining casually, eyes closed.

"And who are you to tell me that?" She hissed. "I am fighting to _right_ my wrongs, to _do_ something about it."

"Yes, but, counter-point, do you really think it is physically possible for one girl to take down an international terrorist organization, hm? I hadn't thought that you were suicidal as _well_ as foolish."

Blake shot to her feet, staring down at him. "At least I am I fighting! You can sit there and say that it won't make a difference, but that complacency is what lead to us falling this far in the first place! You pretending like it isn't worth fighting for doesn't make you pragmatic, it makes you a coward. You're no better than they are."

Rainier let out a harsh bark of a laugh, finally turning his attention to her. "Oh, no better than they are, well then answer me this, Belladonna; how many people have you, personally, killed-"

She grabbed her tray, dark eyes boring into his furiously, scowling, her hands trembling with anger. She turned and stormed off without another word, shaking with rage as she took off down the concrete path, never once giving her friends another look.

The Vacuoan simply raised a hand to wave at her as she went, none too concerned with her, or their friends shocked and primarily angry reactions; until a hand lashed out, gripping his wrist tightly, his gaze whipping around in surprise.

Yang stood above him, tightly gripping his arm, bearing down on the faunus, her eyes red, and her hair glowing. "If you ever talk to her like that again, I will rip your skeleton out of your asshole, am I understood?"

Rainier leaned away from her, eyebrows furrowed, trying in vain to rip his captured limb free. He gave a small, hesitant nod.

"Am. I. Understood?"

"Yes, _yes, you're understood_." He hissed back.

She roughly released his limb, snarling as she gathered up her own food, taking off after her partner, her pace quickened to catch up with her. Rainier watched the two huntresses go, rubbing the throbbing pain away from his arm

"Why are you such a dick?" Lance asked, giving his friend an unimpressed look.

The faunus turned back to his friends, his face falling as he took in their disapproving expressions. "I... I don't like the White Fang. What more does there need to be?"

Weiss crossed her arms, staring coldly at him. "For once I agree with Lance; nothing she has done could warrant that."

"Oh? Truly? Tell me, are any of you aware of the crimes that her old friends have committed? They're quite numerous."

"Actually, I am very well aware. They've warred against my family since as far back as I can remember, and I've seen first hand the depths they can go to; but that's not Blake. I'm disappointed that you can't separate her past with her present."

"Isn't her trying to make it better enough?" Ruby asked, face twisting pleadingly. "She's a good person-"

"Is she?" Rainier asked, giving his friends a once over, before rising to his feet. "I'll beg to differ. Anyone that bore that red flag is the farthest thing from a good person I can fathom." He turned to walk away, his meal left behind; his shoulders slumped, hands in his pockets.

The fountain faded back into silence.

Lance leaned back, letting out a groan. "You guys are all so melodramatic, I swear to the gods."

"Oh yeah?" Oracle asked, pushing her sunglasses down to perch on her nose. "Mr. Mysterious Patch. Mr. Mysterious Meetings with Ozpin."

"Oracle, you're going to be the death of me."

"Wait, wait," Jaune said, giving his fellow swordsman a confused look. "What sorta secret meetings with Ozpin?"

Pyrrha nodded, leaning towards him. "I have to agree; you can't simply leave us hanging like that."

Lance looked between his expectant friends- Ulysses even pulling an earbud loose, an eyebrow raised. "...Fine, fine! Alright, you happy, Oracle? I'll spill."

"I am riveted, hon."

He let out a groan, rolling his eyes, looking to the sky. "... _Fine_. Before I came to Beacon I spent a stretch of time as a mercenary."

They all looked to him in various states of confusion. Pyrrha frowned. "As in a-"

"Sellsword, yeah, yeah. Ran with a group of people out west. No, I didn't do anything illegal. It wasn't that big of a deal, it was just super boring. I spent a lot of time travelling, and setting up camps. That's about it. It's nothing to get excited about. You guys satisfied?"

"I get the pretty strong feeling that you're not telling the whole truth." Daria said quietly, looking down to her food, not remotely convinced.

"You would," He said. "Really. I mean it. No biggie. I've got probably one of the least interesting stories out of all of us. Most interesting thing that's ever happened to me was my stepmom kicking me out of the house. We all good?"

"You're just full of disappointments, Zaffre." Oracle muttered, sourly turning back to her meal.

"I'm glad that I could assist, you don't know how happy that actually makes me."

Shinai continued to stare off after Rainier, eyebrows furrowing. Daria turned to him, catching the look. "...You okay, Shinai?"

The samurai broke from his thoughts, turning back to the huntress. "...Watch him."

"What? Why?"

"...Simply a gut feeling."

She stared at him in confusion for a moment, slowly opening her mouth to retort-

"-Daria here has actually had quite an interesting tale!" Pyrrha said, her face affirming that she had caught the entire interaction between the two leaders, voice light as she steered the conversation away. "Remember our first day at Sanctum?"

That drew the smaller Mistrali back into the conversation, groaning. " _Pyrrha, please, don'_ t."

"It was our first spar of the year!"

Shinai looked away from his teens as the champion eagerly dove into her story, smiling pleasantly as she went. He turned a darkly suspicious gaze back the way the faunus had gone, distractedly returning to his meal.

* * *

Blake held her journal tightly in front of her, heavy, dark lidded eyes struggling to remain open as she continued her exhausted march down the hallway, her shoulders hunched, lost in her own thoughts, gaze locked forwards, but not really seeing. She turned the corner- and bashed directly into something, nearly taken off of her feet, her journal flying from her grasp.

There was a whir of movement, a hand latching onto her wrist, another catching the book out of the air. She took a moment for her shock to fade, looking to the individual.

Rainier stared at the journal in his other hand for a moment, eyebrow cocked, before turning down to the other faunus. His bemusement faded- and he let go of the girl, letting her fall back to the linoleum.

"Hey!" She spat as she landed hard, glaring up at him, pushing herself up.

His face, ice cold, didn't change as he gave the book another book, nonchalantly extending it out to her. She scowled as she reached out to take it- and he pulled it back out of range. His expression twisted slightly, a hint of concern filling him. "...You look like shit."

Her scowl didn't drop as she ripped the journal from his grip. "Don't give me your pity."

"It seems pity is all I have left to give you."

"What do you _want_ from me?"

He looked up to the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment, shrugging. "Unless your semblance allows you to go back in time to not be a part of a dangerous, violent terrorist organization, I'm afraid that there's little that I want that you can give me."

"We weren't always like this!" She hissed, getting into his face. "Before our leader stepped down, we fought for what was right! We cared! We fought, and protested, and picketed for our rights! And what have you wolves done in Vacuo, huh? You don't care about our people, and don't pretend like you do!"

He held a finger up to her. "...My people are the Vacuoans, whether or not they are faunus or human. Simply having a tail like mine, or ears like yours does not make us kin. And, whilst you are still on your high horse, the moment your people took their first life, did you leave? The moment your brothers and sisters became killers, did you desert them?" She went silent, fury fading slightly. "...I didn't think so, Belladonna..."

Her snarl reclaimed her face, pushing past him to storm away without a word.

"Adam Taurus."

She froze, her eyes widening in shock, a shot of cold flowing through her body. "...What?" She slowly turned towards the other faunus.

"You know him then."

"I... yes. I did."

"Do you know what he did?"

Blake's eyes drifted from him. "I... I'm not... I don't-"

"-Five years ago, mere months after your leader stepped down and Sienna Khan took his place, he came west to Vacuo with a group of his finest and most loyal men..."

"...And he was the only one who came back." She muttered.

"So you do know the story! Splendid. Did he tell you what he did while he was licking his wounds, hm? Did he confide in you the dark, bloody details of that mission?"

"I... no. He didn't."

"Don't claim that your Fang have ever been heroes. If you knew what that vile bastard had done... you'd give up on them without a moment of hesitation," The two faunus stared off for a quiet moment, before he began to back away, gesturing a finger at her, face filled with icy hate. "...I may not hate you, but I do hate who you were. You can run all you wish, Belladonna, but escaping from shadows is much... much harder than you believe it is." He disappeared around the corner, leaving Blake standing in the hallway alone.

She stared after him, eyes filled with regret... before her face began to fill with defiance and determination, golden eyes going hard, turning to storm away.

* * *

"SHUT UP AND _DAAANCE_!" Nora cried out, grabbing Ren's hand and dragging him into the middle of the dance floor, the ninja giving Lance one last terrified look before disappearing into the throng. The blonde swordsman snorted, before taking a swig of his drink, gargling it before swallowing.

The ballroom bustled with activity, spilling out into the dark night beyond, lights flashing energetically; the grand hall was filled to the brim with students representing all four Kingdoms, comingling quite efficiently, most of the ground floor dedicated to dancing, a DJ placed at the front of the stage who was conversely switching back and forth between enjoying his job, and cowering under Weiss' furious glares.

"Oh, that's not right." Lance muttered as he gave said offending drink a sour look. Then proceeded to almost drop his cup as Oracle rather roughly bumped his hip with hers, a grin splitting her face. He looked her up and down for a moment, taking in her well-dressed appearance, before downturning his lips, unimpressed, looking back out into the crowd.

"Oh come on," She said, smile dropping. "It's the one time I'd let you get away with being... you and not a single compliment?"

"Nope."

"You're such an ass," He snickered as they both turned back to the dance floor, after a moment, she gave him a suspicious look. "And where the hell is your date?"

"Don't got one." He said flatly, taking another drink of punch.

"Oh shut up."

"That one's not a lie."

"Really?" She asked. "You. Don't got a date. What, already piss off the whole female populace? Come on, every school is here- there's gotta be someone who doesn't know who you are."

"I waited too long," He muttered back with a shrug. "Sides- dances aren't my thing anyways."

"I... yeah. I could see that."

"Alright," He shot back, looking down at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Where's your date then."

"Oh, he's..." She trailed off, face souring. "Thought he was cute. Turned out to be an ass."

"Like, 'you're such an asshole!'? Or, 'Lance gotta go knock someone's teeth in, asshole'?"

She gave him a small chuckle. "I dealt with 'im already. Remind me not to date sketchy Mistrali guys."

"Oh, come on, Team SSSN aren't that bad."

The gunslinger burst out into laughter, doubling over, before wiping a stray tear from her eye. "Where was that snappiness when we used to chirp?"

"I told you; I only save my best material for a worthy challenge."

"And... SSSN are worthy challenges."

"Nah. But it sounded good."

They shared a sigh, before she nudged him again. "Alright. I'm gonna go find someone to bother. Stop standin' here, you're gonna ruin your reputation." With a smack to the chest, she sauntered off, peering around the crowd for other friends.

Lance watched her go for a minute, before downing his drink. He grimaced at the punch again, before tossing the empty cup to the side. "You're not wrong!"

With that, he cocked his head to the side, popping his neck, and grinned widely, marching out into the crowd.

* * *

Weiss rushed to and fro, pale eyes irritated as she readjusted streamers and banners, barked at the DJ, and continually refilled the punch bowl- even as she weaved, and pushed around dancers, music filling the air in Beacon's ballroom as the dance raged in full swing. She stormed forwards- then skid to a stop, back-tracking and turning irritated eyes to Daria. "And _where_ is Rainier?!"

The leader of DRGN pulled at the black fabric of her jacket uncomfortably. "Uh… excellent question." The Team DRGN leader let out a breath she had been holding in, slumping, pulling at her sleeves in discomfort.

The Atlesian stared at her friend, before frowning. "I haven't seen him... but, when he gets here, you tell him that..." She trailed off at the look on the other girl's face. "...What's wrong?"

"I haven't seen him in, like, five hours."

"Oh."

"...Yeah."

The heiress mulled the thought over for a moment, before pushing Daria forwards. "Well, don't just stand here! Go, have fun- I demand it."

The diminutive huntress gave her friend a small smile as she stormed off, shaking her head. "Sure. Me. Have fun. At a dance," She sighed. "Gods, Gail, you lucky girl."

* * *

Shinai hummed to himself, leaning against the second floor's bannister, staring down at the other teens below, a glass of water in hand and a slightly bored, if not bemused expression tinting his face.  
"Caped Opossum!" A very familiar voice called, rousing him from his silent musing. He turned curious purple eyes to the side where Nash was waiting, bouncing and buzzing very visibly.

"I'm sorry?" The samurai muttered, the familiar name stirring rather intense feelings of distaste.

The diminutive boy jumped onto the bannister, taking a seat, nodding. "You look like Waylon Branson, the Caped Opossum. When he's not a superhero, he's a billionaire playboy philanthropist, and goes to all sorts of things like this. You look just like 'im."

Shinai gave a short chuckle. "...Enjoying the dance?"

The boy shrugged. "I dunno."

"And why not."

"I kinda just wanna sit but girls keep comin' up to me askin' me to dance. I'm too cute."

The samurai looked over the rather distracted boy for a moment, before shaking his head. "Is that truly a weakness?"

"I dunno. I just wanna sit and drink punch. Why aren't you down there?"

Shinai only gave him a silent look for a long few moments. Nash stared right back, curious expression not waning once. After a moment, the older huntsman sighed. "I don't enjoy these things."

"Then why come?"

"My team wanted me to."

"You're a cool cat, Mr. Kyani."

The samurai turned slightly narrowed eyes to the boy, before giving a more genuine chuckle.

"Wha?" Nash asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Nothing. Something just struck me."

"Kay, cool-" The boy's eyes widened as the song changed. "OM GODS, THIS IS MY JAM- BYE, MR. KYANI!" The boy dropped off of the bannister to the floor below, charging into the fray, leaving Shinai standing above, slightly bewildered.

" _Children_." He said, shaking his head with a small smile.

* * *

Daria uncomfortably stumbled forwards, struggling in her heels as she searched for her date. As she passed by the punch table, though, she came to a stop, looking over to where Ruby and Jaune were standing quietly, looking rather forlorn.

"Oh. Hey Daria." The former said quietly.

"Hi." The latter muttered, sipping at his punch.

She sighed and stopped next to them, leaning down to rub comfortingly at her heels. "You guys haven't seen Rainier, have you?" A chorus of nos greeted her.

She sighed. "Awesome. What are you two doing?"

"Oh." Ruby started again.

"You know." He continued.

"Being introverts."

"Wanna join?"

Daria stared at them for a moment, before groaning. "Gods I wish. If I don't find Rainier, keep a spot warm for me."

"Can do." Ruby said, mustering as much energy as she could

The shorter huntress sighed and continued to trudge on, hope waning as the dance continued into the night. She skirted around the edge of the dance floor, peering in at the dancing crowd with a frown, searching for Rainier to no avail.

Finally, she came to a stop, eyes darkening as her disappointment slowly faded to anger, teeth gritting together before storming off elsewhere, hands gripped into white-knuckled fists at her side, furiously blinking away welling tears.

* * *

"You mind?" Lance called out, getting Oracle to jump in shock, turning from Yang and some of her other friends with wide, green eyes.

"What? Mind what?" She asked, voice filled with disbelief.

He extended a hand to her. "I'm not great at all of this bougie shit, but..."

She blinked, staring at the offered limb. "Zaffre, are you... _asking_ me to _dance_?"

"Cats and dogs are living together, Rainier's not a dick, the gods have returned, lots of miracles are happening tonight."

The gunslinger put a hand to her chest, giving him a coy look. "I'll have you know, I have a very high standard of dancing partners."

"Fair- counter point, it won't be the first time I've stepped on your toes."

"Fair!" She laughed, taking his hand. "Fine. Don't get handsy though, I _will_ beat your ass."

"I don't make any promises."

The duo stared off as they danced slowly amongst the crowd, ever inching closer until they were pressed against each other, her head resting against his shoulder. He blinked in surprise- before relaxing with a small sigh. "...Hey, O?"

"Yeah?" She asked quietly, voice almost sleepily comfortable.

"You look good."

"Thanks, hon. You don't look like you just woke up and decided your bath robe was all you needed for the day."

"Man, I just can't _win_ with you."

She snorted. "That'd be too easy."

The duo lapsed back into silence. The swordsman looked up- to where Yang was staring with a beaming grin, lilac eyes sparkling with mischief. She gave him two thumbs up, getting him to give her a stern, sour look, mouthing 'no!' repeatedly at her.

* * *

"Cin, we've got a problem." Vegas Gold said into his communicator, looking out over the campus.

" _What problem_?" Cinder purred back through his earpiece, though her voice dripped with venom and _dared_ him to tell her a problem.

"The faunus- the wolf one- never went into the dance."

" _And_?"

"And I don't know where he is. AKA, that could be a problem."

" _I'm not afraid of one little huntsman, Goldie_."

"Nah, but how about a few hundred?"

" _Then find him_."

"Ha. Good luck with that. This place is huge, and he's not in their room. Do you see him in there?"

" _In the midst of all of these brats? I don't think so._ Find him."

* * *

Rainier hit the ground hard, sliding across the tile below, exhausted gaze turning to the ceiling, his form drenched in sweat. He took a moment to reclaim his breath, slowly pushing himself into a seated position. "Time." He huskily called out.

There was a pleasant beep. " _Last round; 38 Seconds. Best time; 36 seconds_ ," A bright, electronic voice called, echoing across the otherwise empty room. His face pulled into a furious scowl. " _Would you like to go again_?"

He turned down to the ground, breathing heavily for a moment. "...Faster. You have to be faster," He turned darkly determined eyes back to the training room. "Go again."

Dozens of blue, humanoid holograms appeared, trailing lazily over the tiles below in pre-set routes. He looked between each of them quickly as three beeps slowly called out over him.

" _Begin_."

He blurred forwards towards the closet target, lashing out with a vicious kick.

* * *

Shinai sighed as he stared out at Beacon from the ballroom's balcony, enjoying the cool air and the blissful quiet.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He turned at the voice; Pyrrha was standing in the doorway, dressed in a glimmering red, sleeveless dress, looking abashed.

"It's fine." Shinai said, turning back to the night sky.

"Enjoying the dance?" She asked politely.

He grunted noncommittally, before turning back to her. The warrior looked… alone "Are you alright?" He finally asked, quietly.

She jumped with a start at the question, green eyes locked onto the samurai.

"I- I, no, no, no, I'm fine."

His purple eyes boring into her told her he didn't believe it. She sighed and opened her mouth to say something.

"Pyrrha?"

Both warriors turned to the staircase leading up to the balcony as Jaune stepped out, looking concerned.

The huntress sighed sadly. "Hello, Jaune."

The blonde walked towards them. "You okay? I haven't seen you tonight."

Pyrrha sent a quick look to Shinai. "Arrived late, I'm afraid."

"Well, you _look_ really nice."

She turned on a dime to him, green eyes opening wide, hand shooting to her mouth. After a moment, she schooled her face back into nonchalance, hand dropping. "Thank you."

Jaune's eyes, however, shot to Shinai and he winced. "You're, uh… not going to beat me up for that, are you?"

The samurai stared in confusion for a moment, before making a noise of understanding. "I think you're safe for tonight."

He chuckled nervously, sticking his hands into his pockets as he turned back to Pyrrha. "Shinai Kyani, huh? Heh heh, quite a, uh, catch."

The huntress' eyes widened again as she turned to the aforementioned swordsman, who had turned back to Beacon, stepping out of the conversation.

"Oh. We're not here together."

"Oh! So, where's the guy then?"

"There is no guy."

The balcony went quiet as Jaune choked on his spit. "What?!"

Pyrrha's head dropped. "Nobody asked me."

"But that's…" Jaune gestured vaguely at her. "You're Pyrrha Nikos! How could nobody ask you?!"

Pyrrha sighed, leaning against the railing, giving Shinai a brief glance. The samurai caught it, and turned to leave, giving the other huntsman a solitary nod as he passed.

"I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people. That's what I like about you,"

Jaune's eyes widened, mouth falling to gape at her in surprise, even as she continued on. "When we met- you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who saw me for me..."

She trailed off sadly, and gave him one last, long look before turning to leave after the samurai.

* * *

"How ya doin', sis?" Yang asked Daria as she walked up to her. "Ah, jeez."

The aforementioned brunette was leaning against the wall, half-drank cup of punch in her hand, face cast in shadow.

"What happened?" The blonde huntress asked, leaning against the wall next to her.

Daria sighed before responding in little more than a mutter, "Rainier never showed."

Yang stared at her for a few moments before slowly beginning to tremble, eyes turning red. "Ooh, I'm going to-"

"Stop. Please. I don't care."

"Come on, you do. Do you-"

"What? Oh, no. It's just, that… he's my best friend. I figured he'd be the last person to flake out on me."

Yang continued to stare at her crestfallen friend- before extending her arm. "Come on."

Daria stared at the offered limb for a few moments, blinking owlishly, a dark blush slowly crossing her cheeks. "Uh-

"We're going to go dance."

"Oh... yeah... um..."

"And drink loooots of punch and talk about how much Rainier sucks. How's that sound?"

Daria continued to stare at Yang before a smile slowly claimed her face, taking the blonde's arm. "That… sounds like fun."

"Oh! Jaune put a dress on, it's going to be so funny! And have you seen Lance and Oracle? They're the absolute frickin' cutest."

* * *

"Hey, Cin. I got the wolf." Vegas said, leaning back from his vantage point overlooking the campus.

" _Where? What's he doing_?" Cinder called back.

"Outer edges of the campus. Looks like he's just now heading to the dance. And... like he's been training his ass off. That is interesting."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because there might just be something in it. Because these kids have been making a huge deal of this dance for a while now. Didn't expect him of all of them to ditch to train. Vacuoans are fascinating."

"… _Perhaps. Keep an eye out, the dance is secured. I'm heading out_."

"Of course. Don't have too much fun."

* * *

Rainier sighed, wiping the still pouring sweat from his face with a sigh, brushing his arms to stay off the sudden drop in temperature of the outside world. He swallowed hard, pale eyes dark with exhaustion. "Here's to hope." He muttered as he neared the ballroom, trying his Scroll again, calling Daria- to no avail, the line immediately going dead. He shook his head, a touch of regret filling his face, continuing his solemn, exhausted march-

_Bang bang bang._

The faunus screeched to a halt, claws of his silver leg scratching against the concrete and sending sparks into the air, turning on his heel at the ever familiar sounds of gunfire. He looked back and forth between the ballroom and Beacon Tower, mind shifting back and forth between them.

He groaned, taking off at a dead sprint towards the CCT tower, his vest dropped to the ground.

* * *

Ruby stumbled into the tower's communication room, heels wiggling under her uncertainly, clutching Crescent Rose tight to her chest. "Hello?" She called out, looking around the dark room with a frown. "Is anyone in here?"

There was a beat of silence- before a woman rose from behind one of the consoles, dressed in black, a mask pressed to her face, glowing ember-like eyes looking over the huntress interestedly.

"Excuse me?" Ruby asked, her stance lowering, scythe slowly. "You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-"

The woman dashed forwards with considerable speed, snatching several glowing blue canisters from her belt, aura pumping into them before she hurled them forwards. Before they could impact, a blur of silver dashed into the room, gunshots ringing out, crashing into the grenades in the air, ice shards flying to cover the trio.

Rainier frowned as he stared between the two women. "Do we know her?"

"No!" Ruby shot back.

"Good." He dashed towards her; a step to slow, missing as she leapt up and out of the range of his kick, heeled boots touching down onto the table of one of the computers, taking off again with a smooth spin, a bow and arrow forming out of crystals held in her hands, a smirk appearing on her face before she fired.

The faunus went wide-eyed as the arrow flew towards him; and was quickly slashed through by Ruby's scythe, the dark shards of the missile falling uselessly to the floor. The woman's bow separated into two glowing orange blades, landing in a crouch as she stared at the two students, the combatants tensing, muscles coiling as they prepared to reenter the fray.

"What is going on in here?!"

The trio's attention shifted back towards the elevator in various states of surprise: standing in the doorway, large pistol drawn, was a tall, stocky man, older, dressed in a regal white, blue, and red suit, hard blue eyes shifting around the room before them.

"General Ironwood?" Ruby asked in surprise as the Atlesian slowly stepped into the tower, eyebrows furrowed.

Rainier's face twisted in a snarl as he turned back on his heel, Wolf's Claws digging into the metal floor, preparing to lunge forwards

The woman was gone.

* * *

Cinder stepped into the ballroom, dressed in a lavish black dress, two Atlesian guards following a few moments after her into the crowded room, confused. She reached forwards, and tapped on a green-clad girl's shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

Emerald turned to her in surprise, before nodding, gesturing to her dancing partner. "Of course."

Cinder stepped forwards, locking hands with Mercenary, the assassin's face twisted in smug understanding. "And how's your night been going?" He asked, curiously.

"Mm… a little more… exciting than expected."

"Should we be worried?"

"Hardly. They'll be scratching their heads long after we finished what we came here for."

"So, what now?"

"Enjoy the rest of your night. After all, it is a party. That goes for you too, Goldie. Enjoy. Tomorrow… it's back to work."

* * *

Rainier and Ruby looked around in shock and confusion. "Where..." The latter began.

"What happened?" Ironwood asked sternly, giving the room an analytical once-over.

"Where the hell did she go?" The faunus hissed as he stormed forwards, looking intently around each of the terminals. He slowed to a stop as a screen glowed intently before him; the lone activated monitor in the room, its contents otherwise blank. "...General?"

Before the Atlesian could respond, chimes began ringing out through the tower, as the clock struck midnight.


	15. Chapter 4: Minutes After Midnight

Chapter 4: Minutes After Midnight

* * *

The night sky glittered with stars high above the peaks of Beacon, and Shinai found himself reflexively counting them from his perch atop the roof.

"You can come out." He called quietly, not turning purple eyes from the sky.

There was an uncertain scuffling- and Daria crossed the peak of the roof, staring owlishly at the samurai.

"Daria Copper." He greeted, turning finally to her.

"Uh… hi."

The two huntsmen stared at each other for a long few moments, before Shinai finally cocked his head slightly to the side. "Can I help you."

"I, uh…" She replied lamely, finally shuffling down towards him. "Well… not really, but… kind of,"

He simply raised an eyebrow in response.

The short warrior uncertainly sat down next to him, drawing her knees into her chest. "...How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"The leader thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I... mean, the- the micro-management, and the team-building, and the training, and the assignments, and the… everything. I don't even know where to begin."

Shinai sighed and crossed his legs. "What works for me and my team won't work for you and yours. We are different people-"

"...I know. And that's the worst part... I... it's like every step forwards with my team, we take two steps back. I think I pull us together, then... we seem to just get further apart. You've got Ulysses, and Lance, and Oracle- and it shouldn't work... but it does. You make it work... even when everything seems to be at its worst, you still make it work."

He said nothing for a long few moments. "…Do they believe in you?"

"Who? My team?"

"Yes."

"I… I want to say that I don't know... but I think I do know... and I think the answer's no."

"That's your problem. I run my team tightly, but they know that I can do it. Do yours know you can do it?"

"I… how can I do that if I can't even look at... one of them."

Shinai closed his eyes again. "I don't know you, Copper. I don't know how you work. But this goes further than your personal feelings; you may hate Platina, but that does not remove him from your team. That does not nullify the uses he has for you. You know your team better than anyone; you simply need to ask more questions."

She cast her gaze to the tiles below. "...I don't know if I can do that. It's like... I want to move on from him, but... just the thought hurts."

"You care for him, your pain doesn't simply make you forget about that. This... is a situation beyond my skills. It's up to you and him to move on."

The two team leaders sat quietly for a while, saying nothing, the huntress' mood dowering, face twisting solemnly. He turned back to her thoughtfully, a small sigh escaping him. "You should get some sleep. It'll do you well."

"I... tried. I can't sleep. Why are you up here?"

"...No true reason."

Daria was quiet for a moment. "...You scare me, you know that?"

"...I am aware."

"Everyone scares me, but you... I don't know... you and Ulysses both are just-"

"Dark, yes. I am aware. Trauma can... have that affect. But it can also be healed. Trust me when I tell you that I have no ill will towards anyone. I would do nothing to harm you or others. That darkness can be harnessed to... move on. In our own ways."

Her gaze softened, turning down to the tiles below her. "...Yeah... I trust you... thank you for the talk."

"Of course."

The two leaders fell back into silence, gazes raised to the pitch black sky above head.

* * *

Rainier sighed as he slowly played a few keys on the piano, taking in the comfortingly familiar notes, other hand running over the black surface of its top.

"Oh. _You_."

The faunus looked up- to Weiss, the Atlesian staring, arms crossed, face disapproving, as she stood in the middle of the ballroom. "Yes. It is I. The villain of the hour." He ducked his head again to stare at the keys, continuing to play absentmindedly.

"Don't play victim."

"…You're right. I apologize."

Weiss sighed, and began picking up the stray streamers littering the ballroom- sky pitch black outside the windows, and the dance long over. After a moment, she stilled again. "How could you just leave her hanging like that?"

Rainier's fingers hovered above the keys, a frown crossing his face. "I hadn't intended to. When I asked her to the dance, I'd been fully intent on going."

"So? Why didn't you?"

"I… got caught up."

She scoffed. "Oh, boy. Let's hear this excuse, then"

"I was training."

The heiress burst out into laughter. " _Training_? Really? You just happened to get lost on the way to the dance and ended up at the gym?"

"Well… I'd been training, and… lost track of time."

"So, allow me to get this straight: you were working out, and just... happened to forget the dance, that our friend group had been making a big deal out of for _weeks_ just happened to be tonight? The dance that three other schools from _other Kingdoms_ flew in to attend?"

He sighed. "It's a poor excuse, I know."

The two huntsmen lapsed into silence as the Vacuoan played a few more keys idly, not seeming willing to leave the ballroom, while she continued to clean up the mess left behind after the party.

"…You play piano?" Weiss finally asked, breaking the silence.

"From time to time, yes."

She hummed, unimpressed in response, turning her gaze back to the floor.

"I prefer the guitar," He continued, latching onto the opportunity to make conversation. "But they're not so different. Inverted, perhaps, and one much more regal than the other. The piano's not a bad second-best, though it lacks the elegance that an acoustic can offer."

Weiss shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"Yes, well… I imagine that's something everyone has said about me tonight."

"Maybe. You did miss JNPR doing a dance though. And Jaune in a dress."  
Rainier spluttered, but didn't laugh, simply trailing off. "A mess up I truly am, huh? I break my dear friend's heart, and then proceed to miss the rest of my friends' moments."

"That's the general sentiment, yes."

He shook his head and brought his other hand up, the notes playing in his head as he softly plucked away at the piano's keys, humming along quietly.  
All of a sudden, Weiss straightened up like a blur, hands filled with trashed streamers. "...I know that song." She gasped, pale blue eyes turning up to him.

He stopped. "Oh? I was just playing what came to me."

"No, that's Anders. I used to have a piece to that."

Rainier stared at her for a long few moments. "Miss Schnee, you continue to surprise me." He pressed a few more keys, watching as she thoughtfully swayed her head slightly side-to-side, humming along.

"What," She asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Is it so bizarre that I know Anders? He's one of the greatest of his period."

"I... suppose I had forgotten who I was talking to. It's easy to believe no one knows the same strange things that you do."

She still didn't seem to be buying it though, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Oh? Well. Isn't that nice."

He pulled his hands away, turning fully towards her as he pursed his lips. "While I... realize that I may not seem the most… approachable man right now, given the circumstances- as of this moment, I don't really have a place to go. And, perhaps, I can help you tidy up?"

Weiss glared at him for a long few moments- before sighing. "Fine. Just don't mention Daria. Or anything else from tonight, for that matter. I worked very hard on this dance, and you didn't have the decency to show."

He began making his way down the steps from the piano to the dance floor proper, grabbing some streamers left over the stair railings as he walked. "I do apologize, dearly. If... I may ask... it's far past midnight? Why are you here cleaning up on your own?"

"For your information- my partner was attacked, and one of my friends was left heartbroken. We're all going to get little sleep tonight. And what did I say about talking about the dance? Now, hurry up and get down here and help me. And while you're at it, you can explain how you know Anders' Fourth Symphony so well."

* * *

Daria's gaze was burning as she stared across the room stubbornly, dark eyes stony and cold, unreceptive to the world around her, arms crossed over her chest tightly, hands balled into fists.

"Daria." Rainier stared across at her helplessly, expression oozing with regret, leaning towards his leader, abashed.

The Mistrali didn't respond to him, barely flinching in her chilly dismissal.

"Daria, please. At least talk to me."

"Why."

The faunus looked around the room to his other teammates, face filled with exasperation and helplessness. "Be- because I messed up, I understand that. I'm trying to make amends, but I need you to help me, Dearest-"

"Don't you dare," She hissed, gaze falling to him, face twisted into an expression of pure vitriol. "Don't you 'Dearest Daria' me."

"I..." He went quiet for a moment, remorse replacing the regret in his eyes. "...Of course." His head dropped lowly, a disappointed breath escaping his lips.

Her expression softened slightly at his look of capitulation- before immediately hardening as another wave of spite flooded through her, upturning her nose again.

Gail swallowed hard as she pulled her legs into her chest, looking back and forth between her teammates helplessly. She and Nash locked gazes for a moment, the young boy shrugging, seemingly none too plussed with the situation at hand.

"...I'm sorry," Rainier said quietly, gaze not raising. "I know... I messed up. I hurt you-"

"Hurt's a nice word," His leader shot back. "See, the only reason I agreed to go with you to that stupid dance was because I- I thought that I could trust you to make it worth it. Why- hey! Rainier wouldn't flake out on me! Rainier wouldn't leave me hanging! Rainier's not like that, he's better! I- thought that I could _trust you_ ,"

His eyes shot back to her, surprise filling his face before hurt quickly replaced it. Daria, though, shot to her feet, storming over to the Vacuoan, bearing down on him. "I don't like to trust people, you know? It hurts, it sucks, and nine times out of ten, someone gets hurt- but I thought you were _different_. You seemed to _care_. And I bought it! I really did! But just like always, that came back to bite me in the ass, like always! And this isn't about some stupid dance, I don't care about that- it's about _you_. I should've listened to my first instincts about you. I knew who you were, but I pretended like you were something else because, dang, that sounded nice- you're a selfish boy who only cares about yourself, and everyone else is just- just side-pieces to use and get rid of as you please! So don't you _sorry_ me. I'm not buying it anymore."

The room was dead silent, the fan whirring above seeming to be impossibly loud. Rainier- his gaze dropping again with each passing admonishment- sat silently for a moment. Slowly, he rose to his feet, attention glued to the floor. Wordlessly, he stepped around Daria, not once looking to her, even as hers and their other teammates' eyes watched his every move. Hands clenched into fists, he began to shuffle away from her, making a dejected, defeated march towards the door.

He left without a word, the door closing softly behind him.

"Daria..." Gail started quietly, slowly sliding to sit on the edge of her bed, face distraught.

Her leader's gaze snapped to her, dark eyes heavy and red with tears, cheeks stained. The trio sat and stood silently for a moment, the tension oppressively thick. Finally, Nash edged towards her- and took her hand in his own silently. Like a cornered animal, she flinched from the sudden contact, turning quickly towards him.

He simply stared up at her with empathetic, caring blue eyes, and she crumbled, falling to sit on the bed beside him, burying her face in her hands.  
"I'm so stupid," She whispered, even as he leaned his shoulder against hers. "I'm so stupid."

"...I thought he was cool too." Nash said quietly.

"He didn't deserve that. He didn't."

"I dunno. Maybe he did."

They sat quietly for a moment, even as Gail looked back and forth between the partners and the door, anguished. Finally, she let out a shaky sigh, sidling back to perch in the corner of her room, placing headphones in her ears, knees pulled back to her chest, a book held with a white-knuckled grip.

* * *

Rainier sighed as he stepped along the lit stone sidewalk, hands buried in his pockets, good leg kicking at stray pebbles littering his path.

"Platina."

The faunus flinched at the sudden, clipped tone, recoiling as he turned on his heel towards the trees placed off of the path. In the boughs of the nearest tree,

Shinai sat calmly, legs crossed beneath him, sword held lightly in his lap, eyes closed.

Rainier's expression flipped from misery to sudden fury, before melting back to resigned as he stared at the samurai, taking a deep steadying breath.

"Samurai." He greeted, frozen in his tracks.

"You're upset." Shinai said evenly, not looking up to the Vacuoan.

"Yes, well... it seems to be a quid pro quo thing... and I'm more than deserving," He cleared his throat, stepping off of the stone. "Another late night?"

"So it seems."

"Is this a nightly thing if you, if it's not too intrusive?"

"No."

"...Very convincing."

The samurai dropped from the tree branch he was perched on, landing in the grass with hardly a sound. Hand balanced casually on the hilt of his katana, he walked forwards and joined the faunus on the path. "Do you mind?"

Rainier jolted at the sudden companionship, bristling for a moment... before the tension drained from him, gaze turning to the stars above. "...No. I wouldn't."

The two walked in silence for a while, neither speaking a word, the two huntsmen walking in synchronization. Finally, Shinai broke the pact of quiet between them. "I'll assume that this is about the dance?"

The Vacuoan let out a bitter laugh. "...That's what I had thought... I'm afraid, it... goes a bit deeper than that."

"Hm," They lapsed back into their silence for a moment. "Copper's upset with you."

"Upset... is a light word. Hardly fitting."

"Yet you're here, alone."

"I... I'm the last person she wants to see. My face may need to be... invisible for a time."

"Wise."

"Oh?" Rainier's face turned back towards him in surprise. "And how is that?"

Shinai looked at the faunus out of the corner of his eyes, head not turning. "You have your reasons for your behavior; those reasons aren't invalidated by how others react to you, or vice versa. Platina, it's possible to commit no mistakes and still lose; that is not weakness, that is life.

Rainier's eyes went hard, a strained smile crossing his face. "...Are we talking to talk or are we talking to bide time?"

"...You see him, then."

"Rooftop, across the street."

Shinai nodded casually in response. "Wait for my mark."

"Don't keep me waiting."

They walked a few more steps quietly-

"…Go."

With two quick movements, Shinai disappeared into a purple cloud of smoke, joined by a silver blur rushing through it.

* * *

Vegas Gold hummed to himself thoughtfully as he watched the two huntsmen strut along the path, popping chips casually into his mouth from his position.

" _Coward_ ," He muttered sourly. "Just _do_ something about it already."

He sighed in disappointment, shaking his head as he continued to dig through his snacks, eyes closing; when he opened him, the duo far below were gone, a rapidly dissipating cloud marking where they had been standing.

"Where did you…" He hissed, climbing to his feet, his bag dropping to the rooftop below.

Poof.

He leaned forwards, narrowly avoiding the blade cleaving through his head, the sharp 'shinks' of the ends of his hair being cut off filling the otherwise dead silent night. Like a top, he turned on his heel to the bottom of the samurai's boot soaring through the air- towards the backhalf of the building's roof was a thick cloud of smoke, not unlike the one down on the street below.

Gold jumped backwards, again narrowly missing the strike as he left the rooftop entirely- only for a hand to grip the back of the cuff of his jacket, swinging him backwards to slam into the brick wall of the building. He tumbled downwards, bashing against the building before landing in a roll onto the ground.

Without a second to spare, and enormous bullet came firing down towards him, getting him to leap backwards-right in the way of a metallic, clawed foot soaring towards him. Vegas stepped to the side at the last moment, pushing the limb away from himself.

Rainier landed on the ground, shaking his head. "Predictable, my friend!"

Poof.

Suddenly, another boot found itself buried in the small of his back, sending him careening forwards into the leaping, spinning, waiting paw of the faunus, smashing into his chin and sending him into the air, leaving his feet entirely.  
Shinai slashed upwards with his katana, cleaving through the man's jacket and sending him further upwards into the air.

A blur of movement heralded Rainier leaping into the air and spinning, Wolf's Claws connecting solidly with Gold's stomach and sending him back down into the asphalt, cannon blast mixing with the blow, the wind rushing out of him.

The faunus landed and pointed towards his at-the-moment comrade. "...I enjoy fighting alongside you far more than I enjoy fighting you, samurai."

Shinai shook his head and dashed forwards- into a solid, bone rattling sucker punch to the stomach from Vegas as he rushed from his hole in the ground, spinning low to trip the samurai's legs out from under him, missing narrowly as the huntsmen jumped over the offending limb, immediately striking downwards to slash into the criminal.

Metal met metal as Gold brought his own blade up, dim, golden metal gleaming under the streetlights as he parried Shinai away. He wasn't given much time to capitalize as a cannon blast caught him in the back sending him tumbling towards the samurai.

"I'm getting _real_ sick of you, wo-"

The two huntsmen rushed him in unison, Rainier dropping low to sweep at Vegas' legs, much like he had done a few moments ago, while Shinai leapt into the air, metallic boot shooting towards the back of the criminal's head.

Expertly, Gold leapt into the air, arcing his back backwards- leaping over the faunus' strike, but ducking just beneath the samurai's.

Shinai, however, twirled, grabbing the criminal's ankle and sending him back down into the asphalt, Rainier scrambling away to avoid getting crushed. With another swift movement, the samurai stabbed downwards- only for Vegas to latch onto Shinai's forearm, grimacing as he held the huntsmen's blade back.

And then he grinned. " _Rust away_."

Shinai frowned- and then felt a burning begin spreading from the spot Gold was holding, teeth clenching at the pain and a growl escaping his lips.

The attack was interrupted succinctly as Rainier dashed forwards, kicking at the spot the criminal's hand met Shinai's arm, both men tumbling away from the blow. Vegas rolled to his feet quickly, grinning wickedly as his blade began to heat, glowing orange and steaming.

Rainer rolled his eyes at the display of bravado, and dashed forwards, spinning sideways and sending a cannon shot at the criminal's head.

Gold side stepped it- and slashed down the length of Rainier's leg, the metal plates of the front cleaving off with ease. The faunus let out a surprised yell as he twirled away, slamming into the ground as his leg sparked and seized up.

Shinai growled and turned with a slash towards the criminal- only for him to be gone, a disappearing golden spot swiftly climbing the side of the building next to them, before vanishing into the night. The samurai growled at the pain in his arm, but briskly walked towards Rainier nonetheless, the faunus glaring at his cleaved leg.

"Bloody _criminals_ …" He muttered as he rose to a sitting position, hands working to remove the now defunct limb, sliding himself away from it.

"Are you alright?" Shinai asked as he helped the now one legged faunus to his foot, arm slung over his shoulder.

Rainier waved him off. "I'm fine. I have another one. That's disappointing. Did that bastard get away again?"

"Yes."

"Of course he did, slippery little..." The faunus shook his head with a frustrated growl. "Come. Let's head back before karma strikes me down again."

* * *

Vegas let out a growl of fury as he threw the table to the side, cooling down sword forgotten on the floor.

" _Now, now_ ," Cinder said quietly in his ear. " _Let's relax_."

Gold scowled and threw more things around in the room. "I just got my ass handed to me by two _children_ \- I'm _not_ going to _calm down_!"

She shushed him quietly. " _Now, now… it was two on one. You'll get your chances for one on one retribution. I'm sure of it_."

"You were _watching_?!"

_"Oh, Goldie, I would have stepped in if I needed to. Don't you trust me_?"

Teeth grit together, he craned his neck around. "I'm going to-"

" _Yes, yes you are. But not now. Right now, we just need to wait. Bide our time. You'll get your chance, Goldie. Sweet dreams_ …" She whispered, soothingly.

Vegas growled and clenched his fists- but closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as he slowly calmed. "Sweet dreams." He muttered back.

* * *

_"Sweet dreams."_


	16. Chapter 5: Extracurricular Activities

Chapter 5: Extracurricular Activities

* * *

Rainier sighed impatiently, tapping his leg against the elevator as it rose quickly upwards, towards the top of Beacon Tower. After seemingly millennia, it slowed to a stop, beeping obviously, before the doors slid open, the faunus stepping out into Professor Ozpin's office. His metallic leg was gleaming platinum, free from the battle-damage and use that the other one had taken over its tenure.

Sitting at the desk, sipping at his drink, was Ozpin himself. Goodwitch stood to one side, while Ironwood stood to the other- they looked like they had just finished an argument.

"Ah, Rainier, good of you to join us." The professor said amiably, leaning back in his chair.

The faunus nodded his head after a moment of hesitation. "Ah… good to be here, I suppose. This is about the night of the ball, no?"

Ironwood nodded. "And the encounter you had last night. We just need you to recount what you remember."

"Aha. Have you spoken to Ms.-"

Ozpin waved him off. "Not yet. But we will. Right now, we just need you to try and remember everything that happened."

Rainier sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Truthfully, I missed most of the excitement, if… that's what you could call it. I arrived in time to kick… something out of the air. Other than the computer, nothing of importance sticks out to me. The encounter with the man, well… I was having a nice walk with Shinai, when we noticed him spying on us. We reacted accordingly, and put a stop to that. He didn't appreciate it and we had a skirmish. He was… twenty-ish? Dressed in brown and Gold, quite heinous. He did something to Shinai's arm, and his sword cut through my leg- the robotic one- like butter. Other than that, he seemed simply interested to watch until we attacked."

The trio of huntsmen shared looks, before Ozpin nodded. "Very well then. And, Mr. Platina, what you did was very courageous, rushing towards the danger at a moment's notice, both times. I commend you."

Rainier nodded, but didn't turn to leave.

"You have a question."

The faunus sighed. "Professor… what is this all about?"

Ozpin's eyes shot over to Ironwood. "...What do you mean?"

"This… woman, that man… whatever it is they're is doing… it's not the White Fang, I know that much. I'm asking… what is going on?"

"Truthfully… we're not entirely sure," Ozpin said with a sigh. "But we will keep you, and the others involved, informed. You have my word."

"Just…" Rainier trailed off, looking away in slight shame. "I did not sign up to fight a war, shadow or otherwise, yes? I simply… hope that this is not something that our lives will be thrown away for." He dipped his legs and twirled his hands, bowing, before turning to leave.

"Mr. Platina, you students mean everything to me. To us. To the world. Don't think that that means nothing. In the meantime… don't let your mind get too clouded with distrust or obsession," That made the faunus turn back to the professor quickly. "Your team are your family, Rainier. Don't turn your backs on them just yet."

The faunus opened his mouth to speak, before slowly nodding, leaving the tower.

* * *

"Capital of Vacuo."

"Vacuo City- easy-peasy."

"Atlesian motto."

"'In Might, Progress. In Progress, Security. In Security, Might.'"

"Largest recorded Grimm."

"Uh… Nevermore- no, Goliath- no! Megaladon."

"Largest island belonging to Vale."

Lance stared at Oracle dumbly. "Uh… bugger, I don't know."

"Patch." Shinai called over evenly from his bed, reading a book. Wrapped around his arm was a thick layer of white bandages, his hand flexing every so often as if in pain.

"How'd you know that?"

"Because I come from there."

Oracle gave the blonde a disappointed look. "Don't even know the captain's home. Shame, shame, shame."

"Whatever, we're not taking the test anyway."

"We're coming back eventually."

"Yeah, but who knows how long? Who knows how long anybody's trip could take? We could be out for days, weeks- months, even!"

"No. We won't."

"Ye- shut up."

Ulysses held up three fingers on one hand, one on the other, without opening his eyes, earbuds plugging his- well, ears.

Lance glared at his partner, while Oracle fist-pumped victoriously. "The gap widens, hon!"

"Bias! _Bias_!"

Shinai closed his book, sighing in irritation. "Do you not have anything better to do?"

Lance leaned back, crossing his arms. "Like what?"

"Strike out with Copper?" Ulysses grumbled.

After a few beats of silence, Oracle burst out into laughter, beating the desk as tears filled her eyes. Shinai simply cracked a miniscule smile, before quickly schooling it.

Zaffre made a face, flapping his lips. "Oh, yeah, sure, pick on Lance!" That simply made Oracle begin laughing harder. "Whatever, I've got my pride and my good looks. You can't take that away from me."

"Take away one, you take away the other." Shinai toned in evenly, face dead-set in stone. The gunslinger began laughing even harder, wheezing as she fell from her chair to the floor.

"What is happening!" Lance yelled, shooting to his feet. "Both of you?! And someone help Oracle, I think she collapsed a lung."

The aforementioned cackling girl went to say something when a knocking at the door interrupted her. The team leader rose to his feet and walked over, throwing the door open. Standing in the frame was Yang, hand raised to knock again.

Shinai raised an eyebrow silently.

"Yeah, hi, you guys know how to turn Daria off?"

Team SOUL was silent for a moment before Lance let out a snicker.

"…Pardon?" Kyani asked.

Yang stepped back, pointing to the side. The samurai leaned out of the dorm room, following the blonde's suggestion: standing down the hall, was indeed Daria- stomping and cursing, kicking the wall hard enough to leave dents, and more or less throwing a tantrum.

* * *

"THAT STUPID-" Kick. "ASININE-" Kick. "SELF-CONCEITED- AGH!"

Kick.

The gathered four teams watched Copper rage silently, the huntress stalking back and forth around the pavilion, kicking things at random.

Pyrrha leaned towards Nash. "What is her problem, exactly?"

The boy's face darkened, shaking his head. "Rainier just keeps on messin' up."

"May you… expand on that?"

"Daria!" Nash yelled, making the gathered huntsmen jump as the DRGN team leader turned her attention back to them. "What'd Rainier do this time?"

Copper stalked back towards them, huffing in anger. "I'll tell you what he did. That friggin' faunus-"

"Made a poor judgment call."

Wide eyes turned to the mentioned faunus.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Yang muttered to the group.

Daria turned furious brown eyes to him. "'Poor judgment call'?! You call that a poor judgment call?! You walk in without telling me about the gold guy, with a new leg, and you don't even say anything?!"

"...I'm... I'm sorry, it-."

"We are beyond sorry at this point! Sorry doesn't begin to cover it! You made a promise- you wouldn't go do these things on your own-"

"I wasn't on my-"

"No, I am talking! You promised! He could have killed you!"

Rainier stared at her quietly. "I... you're right. I had promised. And I broke that promise. And Kyani and myself were in danger because of it. I apo... I will do better," The students hung around awkwardly for a moment, before he sighed. "...The meeting in the auditorium is beginning soon. We'll be picking our missions. I just wished to tell you."

Daria stormed towards the auditorium by herself, pushing past Rainier as she did. The faunus dropped his head, shaking it with a sigh. The gathered 14 all gave him mixed looks of pity and shame, heads shaking at him.

Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder as she passed. "Forgiveness is not easy to come by. You just have to work at it."

* * *

"Quiet!" Goodwitch called out over the heads of the students from all four schools, all four kingdoms, the auditorium packed full; Vale students in their red suits, Atlesians in white uniforms, Mistrali in black; and the Vacuoan students, dressed simply as comfortably as possible. "Quiet, please! Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

Ozpin stepped forwards on the stage, clearing his throat. "Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression," He nodded and gestured to the students broadly, cane held between his arm and chest. "And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity,"

"As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." With that, he and Goodwitch stepped away, and the students began filing out of the auditorium.

Lance stretched languidly, and boredly, looking to his friends and teammates with a cocked eyebrow. "Who wants to just hang out in Vale for a few days?" Almost immediately, a chorus of dissent was launched back to him, getting him to snort. "Yeah, I thought so."

Shinai nodded, looking to each of his teammates in turn, before looking to the others. "Good luck to you all. SOUL." He began to walk away without another word, marching towards the ring of holographic mission boards lining the far walls of the auditorium.

"Catch y'all later." Oracle said, bumping Yang's hip with her own as she and her team followed after their leader.

"Don't do anything I would do," The brawling huntress called back, shaking her head. "And definitely don't do anything I wouldn't do! … Love that girl."

Jaune folded his hands behind his head. "You guys got any ideas for what you're gonna do? I think we're pretty limited on options, considering we're... you know... still first years."

"I believe some of us may have had enough excitement for one year." Pyrrha hummed brightly, giving Team RWBY a pointed side eye.

"Uh... heh, yeah!" Ruby said, eyes wide, face trying desperately to remain nonchalant. "Totally! No- no excitement for us! We're just gonna... enjoy a nice... relaxing... not at all dangerous, or exciting, or dangerous, or-"

"-You get what she means." Weiss cut in, rolling her own eyes.

"Yes, well... don't do anything stupid." Rainier muttered, gaze flicking over to her.

Daria's withering gaze turned back towards him, scowl reclaiming her face, before storming off wordlessly, arms crossed tightly over her chest, hands wrapped around her arms in vice grips.

"...You're just _full_ of dumb choices, guy." Yang muttered, face devoid of sympathy for the faunus.

He watched her go for a moment, gaze falling to the floor. "...I am aware... shall we?" Hands in his pockets, he took off slowly after his leader, his other teammates in tow.

"Bye, have a beautiful time!" Nash called out, skipping backwards, waving at the remaining two teams.

"Don't die!" Nora shouted back, equally as brightly.

"Kay!"

He disappeared into the crowd, tousled blonde hair and a still waving hand popping up periodically amidst the heads of the other huntsmen.

* * *

Oracle and Lance made their way down the list of mission boards with dual appraising eyes.

"Hm... no, that's boring." The latter muttered.

"What about- no, no, we can't do that one." The former shot back under her breath.

"We could always- yeah, no, that one's locked too."

"Mm... no... no... no... hm? Eh, no..."

"Brothers," Ulysses spat, glaring at his teammates. "Pick something."

Lance turned back to him with hands raised placatingly. "Easy there, big guy. It's a scientific process; we've gotta pick the most dangerous, and exciting one that we can, while also finding something that'll keep us out of class as long as possible. It's harder than it looks."

Shinai stepped forwards, his teammates parting to give him room, a hand raising to his chin. "...Community service, perhaps..."

"Okay, but why though?"

"Our duties aren't simply killing grimm. We are defenders of all Vale, and that includes taking care of our wards in all aspects. And it means far more to them than any number of slain grimm do."

The quartet went quiet, before the greatswordsman turned towards Oracle. "I get it! The thing where he makes you sound like a jackass- yeah, yeah, I get it now."

She shrugged. "Only a matter of time until Ulysses' gets his."

The aforementioned giant grunted in slight amusement, his own gaze turning over the boards. "...Search and destroy, far east coast."

Lance looked between the mission and his partner. "...He gets it. He understands. Ulysses Ebony, you're a good man."

"Hmph."

Shinai tapped the mission, typing their team name in quickly. "...Very well. Search and destroy it is."

"Man... coastal... hope they want us to kill a Feilong," Lance said, nodding to himself with a grin. "That might make my life."

"You're just tryna get us killed, blondie..." Oracle muttered as the quartet began to make their way out of the auditorium to the landing pads beyond.

* * *

Nash skipped forwards happily, a bright smile filling his face as he made his way quickly towards his leader, Daria waiting in front of the mission boards, arms still crossed, scowl still painted on her expression;

The boy didn't lose a beat as he reached her, bodily slamming into her with a hug. "We're goin' on a mission!"

Her glare turned towards him, taking in his giddiness for a moment, before her irritation ebbed, raising one arm to return the embrace. "...We've been on missions before."

"Yeah, but we can those were all in the Forest- we can go anywhere now! It's gonna be wicked!"

She shook her head, gaze rising; to meet Rainier's, the faunus walking behind Gail, his face falling immediately. Her fury reignited almost instantaneously, turning back towards the holograms with a returned snarl.

The archer looked between her two teammates, a hand raising to rest gently on her partner's shoulder as she caught his expression. He lightly covered her offered limb with his for a brief moment, before letting it fall, hands buried into his pockets, standing a short ways away from the rest of his team. Gail cleared her throat as she joined the other two. "Ahem... have... have we chosen a, um... mission?"

Daria gave her an unimpressed side-eye for a second, dark gaze turning back to the boards. "...No. Got any suggestions?"

"I... well..."

"Oh!" Nash called out, bouncing back and forth as he rapidly switched between the different holographic screens. "What about a search-and-destroy?! We love search-and-destroy!"

"Gail doesn't." His leader mumbled back.

"...Well, why the heck not?!"

"It's..." Her face darkened. "I just think... it's... not my thing."

"...Ah, alrigh'. What do you want then?"

She jolted, looking between him and the missions. "Well... we could... um... what about a, uh... we could do a scouting mission?"

"A scout-who-what-now?"

"It's a... a scouting mission."

Daria tapped the button in question, looking it over. "Just, uh... looking into some reports of grimm down south. Nothing concrete, or anything."

"...Like a... pre-search-and-destroy?" The boy asked, face still fallen in confusion.

"...Sure, why not?"

"...Awesome! Let's do it!"

The leader typed 'DRGN' into the box, getting a bright beep in response. "...Alright. Come on, then. Let's head out." She turned to leave; walking past Rainier without a glance, the others in tow.

He stood silently for a moment, before giving a resigned sigh, following after his teammates.

* * *

Team SOUL walked forwards nonchalantly towards their designated bullhead. "Who do ya think it's gonna be?" Oracle asked, looking for suggestions.

"Probably Qrow Branwen." Lance said, nodding.

The gunslinger burst out into cackling laughter, doubling over as she walked.

"Hey, I mean, it's a search-and-destroy mission! He's one of the best huntsmen alive! That makes sense, right?"

"Sure, the legendary Qrow's gonna babysit a bunch of kids travelling across the kingdom. How ridiculous would that be?"

Ulysses rolled his eyes. "No."

"Okay," Lance said. "How about… Ramsay Bulwark?"

"No."

"Maybe some sort of dark, badass detective?"

"No."

"...I dunno, maybe friggin' Ozpin, I'm running out of ideas here."

"No."

"Okay, wise guy, who's your pick, huh?"

"I see him."

They all turned to the direction Ulysses was pointing and-

Professor Port raised a hand. "Children! Come along, come along, we mustn't wait any longer! It's going to be a long couple of days travelling after all!"

Shinai took a deep breath in, before letting it out, walking towards the professor.

Ulysses, having already come to terms with the situation, simply walked forwards with his trademark scowl.

Oracle and Lance shared looks before letting out mirror groans, dragging themselves forwards.

"Don't be so down- I imagine it'll be quite a time we'll have!"

* * *

"Doctor Oobleck, huh?" Nash asked, watching Team RWBY dejectedly climb into the bullhead with the eclectic, fast-talking, history teacher.

"Could be worse." Gail said quietly, fidgeting.

"Yeah?"

She pointed to the side, a handful of bullheads off- where Team SOUL was standing next to Professor Port.

"Ooooh-no!" Nash cried, wilting in place. "We're going to get someone terrible too! Oh, I bet it'll be a teacher! Someone terrible, who's not cool, and doesn't have any cool tricks, and- and- and-"

"And?"

They all turned to the voice, and their eyes widened.

The huntsman was tall, and lithe, a tattered, dark brown tricorn hat ornamenting his head, a half facemask covering his face. The majority of his body was dressed in a heavy, classical, tattered trenchcoat, the same color as his hat, and his chest was protected with dark silver body armor over a black body suit.

And strapped to his back was an enormous silver greatsword, separated in segments running down either side of the center piece of the sword- a glowing green sliver, specks of light coming off it.

"And…" Daria began, shaking her head from the trance. "Who are you?"

The huntsman bowed. "Sise Tsuki. Formerly of Team CRMS. Your huntsman for the excursion."

Nash let out a high-pitched squeak of giddiness.


	17. Chapter 6: Going on a Trip

Chapter 6: Going on a Trip

* * *

"I spy with my little eye, something green." Nash said, swinging his legs from his seat in the bullhead, staring out the window.

Daria groaned. "Let me guess, it's a tree."

"Righto!"

The team leader groaned again.

"Now, now, Nash," Rainier began, voice not betraying the thin smile plastered onto his face. "There are more than trees out here. Perhaps blue. Like the sky. Or white. Like a cloud. Or green. Like a tree."

Daria shook her head again, cold gaze turning away from the Vacuoan. "Gail. Make him shut up."

The archer looked up from her book, eyes flitting between the duo, before looking back down, taking herself back out of the situation, as had been her promise to herself the moment it had started.

Sise watched the quartet in mild interest, blue-green eyes twinkling. He refrained from speaking though, leaning back in his seat and feigning disinterest.

"Daria," he began quietly.

"No."

"Daria, please-"

"No! Stop!" She finally cried, turning towards the window in irritation

Rainier stared at his leader for a moment, before finally sighing, following her example and leaving the bullhead in silence.

"Mom. Dad. Please stop fighting." Nash said, getting slight smiles from both huntsmen.

Sise stared on in interest, nodding to himself.

* * *

Shinai sighed as he picked his way along the unkempt trail, Professor Port leading Team SOUL the way a few feet ahead. He turned towards his team, assessing their condition for a moment.

Oracle and Lance seemed to have come together in their mutual dislike for the situation, one hand held firmly on top of her hat, head bowed, while the other hand was at her waist, toying with her gun in what Shinai could only assume was a nervous tick. The swordsman, however, was hunched over, hands buried in his pockets, scowling, and doing his best Ulysses impression at the time.

Ulysses himself was bringing up the rear of the group, heavy trenchcoat slung over his shoulder and hands buried in his pockets. The chain attached to his Avenger continued to wrap around his arm, breaking around the elbow, then continuing upwards, disappearing into the sleeve of his shirt and towards his back. The brooding teen's eyes were closed- and he seemed to just be enjoying the day, surprisingly.

"Professor Port," Shinai began. "Where are we heading?"

"Oh, to the coast of course! There have been a large influx of grimm activity out east, particularly of the marine variety, and it would not do at all if no one had checked up on it!"

The samurai nodded slowly, looking over his shoulder towards his team, looking to see if they had gotten that.

The mention of grimm had made Lance perk up, bright blue eyes twinkling with the promise of a good fight. "Hey, Port-"

"Oh, Port was my father- just call me Professor Port."

That made Lance actually slow down a half-step, staring in dumbfoundment at their leader for the expedition. "…Professor Port, uh… so what'd you do before you became a teacher?"

Port looked over his shoulder, smiling under his rather bushy mustache. "Ah, I was a huntsman of course! A rather good one at that. I worked alone for many years…"

Lance groaned and dipped his head again. "…Mistakes were made." He muttered, getting an irritated glare from Oracle.

* * *

The pilot of the bullhead turned over his shoulder. "Here's your drop off point, Tsuki!" He called out to the huntsman, gaining a nod back as the vehicle began to descend amidst a circle of trees, dead grass and leaves thrown up in the air as they touched down.

Sise patted the pilot's chair in silent gratification as he climbed out of the bullhead, Team DRGN quickly following suit. Nash waved at the pilot as he quickly climbed up the back- to where his mech suit sat, strapped to the vehicle. He quickly detached it, the red armor falling to land solidly on its feet, before the bullhead began to ascend again, soaring off back in the direction of Vale.

"WOW I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS FAR BEFORE!" Nash yelled out excitedly, climbing up onto his suit to stare out at the seemingly endless ocean of trees.

Rainier reached his hands high above his head and stretched languidly, murmuring contently. "I vaguely remember this spot on the flight over. Perhaps it was another stretch of these endless forests, they begin to blend together after a time."

"Vacuoan, right?" Tsuki asked, peering around in the forest, face hidden in shadow.

"Why, yes. How could you tell?"

He held up his Scroll without looking back to the students. "Ozpin gave me your information. I just wanted to confirm that you were the correct one. Son of Leonardo Platina, correct?"

"…Ah, yes."

"Good man, your brother as well."

Daria sighed, cutting into the conversation. "Where are we going?"

The veteran huntsman turned back to them, curiosity filling his eyes. "Further south. It's a short march."

"Why?"

"Grimm activity…"

The team leader and Rainier shared an instinctual look.

"And…?" The faunus said slowly.

Tsuki shook his head. "...Rumors of White Fang activity. But that's not your problem."

" _Oh_." The duo said in unison, before Daria scoffed, turning away.

The quintet went silent as Sise looked around for a few more moments, before nodding to himself, gesturing with a hand for the students to follow him.

* * *

"And that is when I knew it was time to strike! The beast, limping back into the woods it had come from was at its most vulnerable and I could not let it escape! So I…"

Lance shook his head, leaning against Oracle's arm- followed by her pushing him away quickly. "Hey, Port- Professor, whatever- when are we gonna get to where we need to be? I think Ulysses is about to lose it."

The teacher looked up from his lunch. "Hm? Oh, we're already here."

"Oh thank gods! When do we start killing Grimm?"

"What fervor! You remind me of myself at your age, Mr. Zaffre-" Oracle snickered. "Now- we begin the search!"

Lance smiled blankly, eyes glazing over. "S… search? We've gotta…" he slowly leaned forwards stiffly, nearly falling over from his position sitting cross-legged.

"Indeed! It is a search and destroy mission after all! Cheer up, lad! The search is half the fun! Once we find the source of the grimm here- _then_ the destroy can commence!"

Ulysses turned dark eyes to the expedition leader. "...Fine. When do we start."

"As soon as we finish our lunch. Then off to search we go!"

* * *

Sise hummed to himself thoughtfully as he picked his way through the thick foliage of the forest, the mechanical whirring of Nash's mech following a short ways behind him, amongst the sounds of the other students finding their way through the bushes with… less ease than he did.

"Gail," He finally said. The quiet girl went stock still as she jumped, wide eyes trained on the huntsman ahead of her. "You were a hunter back in your home, correct?"

She swallowed and nodded her head quickly.

"What are we looking for?"

A blush slowly crept across her cheeks as her teammates turned their attentions to her. "Uh… well… we need to…" She swallowed again. "What do you mean?"

"We're here to scout, aren't we? So scout."

Gail nodded slowly this time, unslinging her bow from its position on the small of her back, hesitantly finding her way to the front of the group. "Um… we need to find any trace of the grimm. Any… trampled grass or bushes, maybe an animal corpse? This far from any villages, there's not much negativity to draw them together in a concentrated group, so if there are any packs, they'll be smaller and more spread out, probably closer to the border between Vacuo and Vale."

As she spoke, Tsuki slowed his gait, arms crossed, until he was standing beside Daria. He turned blue-green eyes to her wordlessly.

For her part, she didn't even register the veteran huntsman, the remaining members of Team DRGN's eyes all locked onto Gail as the huntress slunk forwards with a disturbing amount of comfort, her hazel eyes scanning the forest floor.

Slowly she stopped, and turned over her shoulder curiously to the staring gazes of her teammates. The blush sprung back to her face. "Oh… oh, I… was rambling. Um… I'm sorry."

" _YOU CAN TALK_?!" Nash yelled out with a decent amount of legitimate surprise.

Gail winced. "Shh!"

Now fear began to sink into the blonde boy's face as he looked around the forest in paranoia.

"Excuse him," Rainier said, blinking himself. "It's just that… you very rarely speak, particularly that much... especially in groups of people."

The huntress rubbed the back of her neck. "I… just… got worked up, I guess."

"No, no, no! Please, continue!"

She swallowed hard and turned her gaze back to the forest, shaking her head in an attempt to block out the amount of attention pointed at her now.

Daria finally looked up to Sise, the masked huntsman inclining his head pointedly before striding forwards again.

* * *

Shinai frowned as he ducked low, swiping his hand against the muddy track. "...This... is a boot print..." Eyebrows furrowed, he turned his attention back to Oracle, the gunslinger catching the look.

"Professor!" She called out, getting the mustached man to turn to them. "We've got… somethin."

Port nodded and strode over to the samurai, looking down at the bootprint, stroking his mustache in curiosity. "Hm… how strange."

"So there's someone else here." Shinai muttered.

"Possibly… well… no, yes, it is a very fresh print. Hm… I was not aware of any other assignments here..."

Lance walked over, frowning in distaste. "No one came all this way for a trip to the beach, I'll tell ya that."

"Bandits?" Shinai asked.

"Perhaps…" Port muttered back. "Ah, no matter! We were sent here for a specific purpose, and we shall complete that purpose, no matter what. No doubt this man- or woman- means us no harm. Onwards, students?"

One by one, the huntsmen resumed their forward march, back where Ulysses was waiting impatiently up ahead. Shinai lingered for a few moments before following after his teammates, his hand tightening around the handle of his katana.

* * *

Gail blinked and turned on her heel. Standing behind her was Sise, the veteran looking sufficiently poised, hands still crossed in front of his chest-

Far, far behind them though, was the rest of Team DRGN, the two non-mech riding huntsmen struggling through the thick foliage, while Nash was trying desperately to pilot Phalanx from the outside, jerkily side stepping trees and clunkily smashing through rocks and roots alike.

"So you enjoy reading?" Tsuki asked as the duo waited.

The huntress ducked her head and swiped a stray hair out of her face. "Um… yeah."

Sise nodded, but said nothing else, lapsing into silence as the others caught up.

" _Gail_ ," Rainier muttered irritatedly. "Are you sure we're following a trail?"

"Um… no. We're not, not yet. We're just… we're just looking for one."

"Oh of course. Do you mind?" He pointed upwards into the branches above head.

Sise and Gail nodded- the latter quickly blushing and avoiding her gaze- while Daria shook her head spitefully. That was enough approval for the faunus to leap upwards, disappearing into the leaves quietly.

"I'll be right above you." He called out.

The DRGN team leader shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Tsuki caught the look and put a hand on Gail's shoulder. "The sun's getting low. We should set up camp while there's still light left and get some rest. We'll keep going at sunrise."

The huntress looked off into the forest unsurely for a moment, before nodding in agreement, a sigh escaping her lips.

Rainier dropped back down to the ground, face disappointed, gaze barely meeting his leader's. "...I should stay down here then.

"No."

"Yes." Daria and Tsuki said in unison.

" _Of course_." With a sigh, he collapsed to the ground, falling into a cross-legged position.

"Gail and I will go get wood for a fire," Sise said with an air of finality. "You three set up the bedrolls and figure out a schedule for tonight's watch. Nash, you prepare the food you brought while they do that."

The aforementioned boy gasped in shock. "How did you know." He whispered.  
Tsuki nodded and gestured with his head for the archer to follow him as they strode into the forest, orange light from the setting sun bathing the scenery.  
Rainier's mouth was held in a tight line as he watched Daria unfold the pack of bedrolls from Tsuki's bag silently, Nash reaching into his mech and pulling out several large bags of food- mostly junk- with a joyful smile.

The faunus sighed and stepped closer to his leader. "Daria."

" _What_."

He extended a hand to her. The diminutive huntress stared at it before frowning and tossing a couple of the bedrolls to him. Silently, the duo set them up in a loose circle. Daria turned to Nash- the boy sitting on his mech, munching happily away at a bag of chips- handing him a bedroll.

The blonde huntsman blinked and hesitantly took it, splaying it out across Phalanx's shoulders and holding his hands up to it, silently pleading it to stay. After a moment, he shot a thumbs up back her way, beaming.

"Do you…" Rainier began.

"Should I _want_ to?" Daria shot back.

"Well… no. But we are stuck in the forest for several days. Together. It might be prudent that we clear the tension, at least a little bit. So we don't give poor Sise an aneurysm."

"You noticed that too?" She muttered.

"He took Gail away. That's not exactly subtle."

"Why leave Nash?"

"Nash!"

The boy simply hummed back as he enjoyed his food, eyes closed in bliss.

Rainier sent a shrug Daria's way.

She sighed, eyes looking him over for a long moment. Finally, she shook her head, the tension draining from her body, muscles uncoiling. "...Alright. Let's talk."

The faunus was silent for a moment, looking around at the peaceful greenery around them as they sat down next to each other. "...You know, when I landed in that forest, I had my entire life planned; excel, impress, run roughshod over this academy without a care in the world. I thought that I would graduate in four years unmatched, alone on a pedestal... it took maybe two hours for that plan to come falling apart," He shook his head with a sigh. "...I invited you to that dance because I care about you, as much as we may wish I didn't... a night, with one of my best friends? It sounded like a dream..."

"Yeah..." She said, giving him a side-eye. "It did."

"...I gave you such a hard time when we first met because you were everything I thought I wasn't; unsure, nervous- hell, I had thought that you were an alright at _best_ huntress... I was right about one thing- you are everything that I'm not; kind, empathetic, thoughtful; the kind of woman who should rightly want nothing to do with an arrogant _patan_ like myself."

"...I don't know what a _patan_ is, but yeah, you are one," He let out a laugh at that, a small smile claiming her face. "...You were right, you know; I was an alright at best huntress... I still am. Rain, you're... your problem is that everything's about you. You take everything like a personal slight, regardless of what it is, and you get it in your head that you're on your own... but you're not. DRGN's a team, but it goes further than that; RWBY, JNPR, SOUL, we're all here with you. You could use some more empathy and definitely some thoughtfulness, yeah... but you're not this terrible person you think you are. You ditched me at the dance, and it hurt, and I hated you for betraying my trust. It still hurts. Even right now, when I look at you, there's a part of me that's _screaming_ at me to not buy your lies...

Rainier stared at her silently, a soft, understanding expression playing on his face as she shook her head. "...You take everything in stride, keep moving regardless, and I can't do that. We both are _awful_ at moving on, but you use that to propel yourself forwards... I just get stuck..." Her gaze finally met his again. "...I don't get you, Rainier Platina. I can't figure you out, and that sucks... that hurts... but maybe I'm not supposed to. Maybe that's just where we're gonna be."

"It's hard to figure out a boy who doesn't even know who he is yet," The faunus said quietly. "...I've never known someone who can destroy my pride as effortlessly as you can... but maybe that's alright as well."

"I don't forgive you for betraying my trust... I don't think I will for a while... but a samurai told me that you can't stop caring about people, even if they hurt you. I don't have to forgive you," She gave him a small smile. "But that's okay... that doesn't mean that you're not Rainier Platina... you're still my teammate... you're still my friend... and maybe we can still move on."

He raised an arm expectantly for a moment, before she rolled her eyes. He threw the limb over her shoulder, giving her a side hug. "...Thank you, Daria... they may be empty words coming from this _patan_ , but... I promise that I will always come through for you."

She leaned into the embrace, shaking her head. "...Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I never do."

* * *

Port looked over the impromptu campsite with a nod. "Very good work, huntsmen and huntress in training! _Textbook_!" Lance and Oracle shared a look, the former rolling his eyes. "It's time to settle in for the night! We leave at first light," The professor nodded as he turned to march towards his own tent. He stopped as he lifted the flap, turning back to the four young huntsmen. "Excellent work today. You all have bright futures ahead of you. Fine work, Mr. Kyani."

The samurai gave him a head nod as he disappeared, leaving the quartet around their campfire. "...You should get some rest. We'll reconvene in the morning."

"Nah, nah, nah, nah," Lance said, leaning forwards on his log, hands folding in front of him as he stared at his leader. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Of course I sleep."

"Because it's like, if you throw a stone at night, there's a decent chance it'll hit you. What, were you just going to keep watch all night without switching with someone?"

Shinai frowned. "Of course not."

"He's got a point, captain," Oracle said, lifting an eyebrow to her partner.

"Why're you always up?"

The samurai looked around at his teammates, before sighing. "...I watch the sun rise and set. It... keeps me focused."

"Focused?" Ulysses rumbled out, arms crossed over his chest.

"...It... it reminds me of where I came from, and where I am going. It reminds me to never stand still, to always push onwards."

The other members of SOUL looked to each other uncertainly, before Lance shook his head with a groan. "...You can even make insomnia sound poignant and insightful, it- dude, you've got a gift."

"He's gotta point there as well, which is two more than he's usually got," Oracle added. "You might be one of the most thoughtful men I've ever met, Captain. Not a hard bar to clear, but still."

The samurai bowed his head with a small sigh. "You... all overestimate me."

"No," Ulysses said. "We don't."

"You're not my first captain," Lance said, nodding. "But you've earned that title."

"I..." Shinai trailed off, looking to his teammates, swallowing. "...It... thank you."

Oracle raised her waterskin in the air. "Here's to the captain; bringin' this unlikely lot together and makin' us one helluva force to be reckoned with."

Lance copied her gesture with his flask. "To the captain!"

Wordlessly, Ulysses raised his own thermos, inclining his head to the samurai.

Shinai stared at his team for a long moment, before bowing his head to them. "...You honor me. Thank you for your service and companionship. I... hadn't expected it when I came here... but it's not unwelcome," He bowed again. "Thank you."

"Now you've just gotta lead us through the Vytal Tournie, and you'll be my kids' godfather," Lance said, leaning back, gaze rising to the stars.

That brought a smile to the samurai's face for a moment, the quartet falling quiet as they lounged around the dying campfire, enjoying the peaceful night, the stars shining bright above head.

* * *

"Hey, Daria."

Daria groaned as she sat up. "I'm up, I'm up-"

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she took in her surroundings- she was, firstly, inside, in a large concrete building, industrial lights shining overhead. The windows showed that, yes, it was still the middle of the night.

Like a bullet, she shot to her feet, Infinitas shooting into her hands as she whirred about. She was definitely alone.

"Hello?!" She barked out, teeth gritting together.

Footsteps greeted her, the sound of boots on concrete ringing out through the warehouse.

"No, that's not good enough." Rainier said, voice filled with irritation.

"It's the best we could do!"

"I'm sorry, I suppose that you didn't hear me. That's not good enough. We need to do better. Torchwick, explain to him what I'm talking about."

"Okay, see, the wolf's just a little irritated. Let me explain this to you, man to man. Face to face. Okay?" A voice, wholly unrecognizable to her, said.

Daria jumped as a gunshot filled the warehouse.

"Dammit, Roman." Rainier muttered as the footsteps got closer to her.

"C'mon, you were going to do it."

"Outside. We're more sophisticated than that."

"Kids these days. Sometimes you gotta be a little unsophisticated. Right, samurai?"

The footsteps finally reached her, rounding a corner and Daria frowned even deeper, staring at the trio walking towards her casually.

Leading the way was a man in a white trenchcoat she didn't recognize, orange hair swept down over one eye, held in place by a black bowler cap.

But she did definitely recognize the other two-

Rainier was beside the man, but… not. He was still Rainier, silver hair wildly poking away backwards on his head, mechanical Wolf's Claws clacking against the floor. Rather than his white and red tracksuit though, he was dressed in a white, sleeveless shirt, tight black pants tucked into an equally black boot. On his face was a concealing, full white mask, modelled like a wolf's head, red swirls littering its surface. His hands were stuffed in his pockets in rather Rainier fashion- but that was the only thing that was familiar about him.

Behind the two of them was a man who looked significantly like Shinai, dressed in black armor, and a black, smooth metal visor, hair much longer than he wore it. His poofy hakama pants were replaced with baggy black pants tucked into black metal boots, katana still strapped to his waist. At the moment, he was dead silent, not responding to Roman Torchwick's question.

Daria sucked in a breath as she watched the three men walk together, swallowing hard, feeling panic fill her chest.

"So this is what you fear the most."

She spun on her heel- to Sise, arms ever crossed, watching the scene play out in front of them- as the trio walked past them.

"Tsuki?" She whispered as her breaths shortened frantically.

"Breathe-" He said, leaning down towards her, hands on her shoulders. "Breathe. It's not real. It's not real."

"Wha- what do you mean it's not real?"

He tilted his head to the side- and the footsteps stopped. She turned back to her friends; and they were frozen in mid-stride, Rainier's mouth stuck open in the middle of speaking.

"What- I don't- I don't understand."

Tsuki straightened up. "My semblance. Huntsman's Nightmare."

"You… you're doing this?"

"It's an illusion. But yes. I've placed us in an image from your subconscious- of a sort. It's hard to explain."

"But…" Daria swallowed as she attempted to curb the coming anxiety attack.

"But why?"

Tsuki watched her for a few moments before sighing. "These field trips serve an alternative purpose alongside the celebration of the end of the Great War. They're tests."

"Tests? What do you-"

"Tests to see your worthiness as students. How you handle live huntsman situation, but also your team chemistry and ability to work together. You four would have failed terribly."

"What do you-"

"Rainier you wouldn't give a moment of time. Gail, it was almost like you forget that she was even there. Nash… I don't have any complaints about Nash... Copper, I see potential in you and your team... you just need to be a _leader_."

Daria swallowed. "...So… that's why you had Gail lead the way?"

"Yes. To say your team failed isn't quite right; you've been failing them. They all have their own skills and strengths. It's up to you to find them and use them well. On a scouting mission, Gail is the only one of you that should be leading the way."

The DRGN team leader sighed, closing her eyes. "...And that's why you put Rainier and I in a situation where we would have to talk," Sise nodded silently.

"So… why this? Why the Nightmare?"

"I'm someone uniquely qualified to test your chemistry and composition as a team; I can see your thoughts. As invasive as that may be, keeping you four alive over the next four years is far more important," He looked around at their surroundings. "Tell me, if you would; why is this a fear of yours? You don't have to explain if you don't want to."

Daria blinked and turned to the frozen form of her teammate. "...Because… I don't trust easily. I don't trust people that are superior to me. I don't trust people who betray my trust. I don't… I don't trust easily. And… it occurred to me. I don't know a lot about Shinai, but I do know that he was homeless. And I know Rainier. And I know how easily he could've… turned into someone bitter, and angry, and violent. I know how easily Shinai could've channeled all that negativity into something dark. But I know that Nash would never be like… this. I know that Gail…" She sighed. "I don't _know_ what Gail's like. I… really have been failing her."

Tsuki nodded along with her. "...Do you want to know what Rainier's Nightmare was?"

Daria swallowed hard, bit her lip; and hesitantly nodded.

"He was back in Vacuo. He was with his brother, and sister, and mother, and father. He was holding the skeleton of a baby and he couldn't let it go. He screamed and raged in the dream- not because his family wouldn't change no matter what he did, not because of the skeleton- but because you weren't there. And Nash, and Gail, and Team SOUL weren't there. Because Team JNPR and Team RWBY, and Weiss weren't there. Because Shinai wasn't there."

The short huntress simply stared at the veteran huntsman, mouth gaping.

"Would you like to wake up now?"

* * *

Daria shot to a sitting position, gasping for air. Sitting across from her was Sise, eyes glazed over for a few short moments before life began to fill them again. Blinking, he nodded at her. "Your shift is up next."

Gail turned to the duo with tired eyes, lips pursed in thought.

The two huntresses locked eyes and Daria slowly nodded- both to her teammate, and to herself. She opened her mouth to say something, before the archer shook her head silently.

Daria looked over to the sleeping form of Rainier- the faunus' face curled in quiet distaste. She sighed. "You can get some sleep, Gail."

The archer wasted no time before lying down, falling back into sleep gleefully.

Tsuki rose to his feet and walked over to Phalanx, Nash sleeping away peacefully on top of it.

"Be gentle with him, okay?" Daria pleaded quietly, sitting down beside the fire.

Sise simply smiled behind his mask, before his eyes went glazed and lifeless.


	18. Chapter 7: Scouts or Flag Bearers

Chapter 7: Scouts or Flag Bearers

* * *

"CAPTAIN!"

Shinai shot to attention, turning on his heel towards where Lance was standing at the edge of the treeline, his hand going to his blade, ready to pull it free.

"What?"

The greatswordsman slowly brought his gaze up to meet the samurai's, a bright, giddy grin crossing his face. " _LOOK_!"

His leader began to pick his way over to the blonde huntsman, the other three turning towards the swordsmen as well. The duo locked gazes, Lance stepping aside to give Shinai a better look.

The samurai reached out carefully, pushing the foliage out of his way to stare into the well shaded stretch of the forest-

The path ahead was torn to shreds; bramble, bushes and soil torn and upturned in something's wake. A motley of bear-like tracks wildly covered the dirt and mud, heading away from the quintet of huntsmen.

Shinai leaned back, turning to the others with a sharp whistle. "Ursa tracks."

"Very well done, Mr. Zaffre!" Port called as he jubilantly began to trek over to the swordsmen. "Excellent spot!"

"Oh, you know, no biggie- _let's go kill some shit_!" Lance called back, hopping up and down excitedly.

"Language, my boy! But yes, the search portion of our journey has concluded! But, do not be too excited; we still must face this threat with the utmost caution and planning. Can't simply jump haphazardly into a melee after all!"

Oracle snorted. "Sorry, Teach, we prefer to make our plans on the fly."

"That may very well work for you in the Emerald Forest, but we are out here in the wild now; trust me when I say that we are in their territory, and we should treat our situation accordingly."

"Whatever gets us there faster..." Ulysses muttered.

"Gotta concur with the big man," The gunslinger continued. "Sorry to be pushy, but we're... feelin' a little pent up."

"You'll have your chance, Miss Carmine, don't you worry. For now, we forge onwards, hunting our prey! And when we come upon them, we will piece together our plan, and then-"

" _Destroy_." Lance whispered giddily.

"Precisely."

Ulysses nodded, walking past the rest of his squad to begin prying the foliage apart with ease, stepping into the darkness beyond. "Let's go."

The blonde huntsman turned to Shinai, an almost thankful and knowing grin planted on his face. The samurai gave a short nod before following after Ulysses and Port.

Oracle flicked the side of Lance's head as she passed him. "Don't do anythin' stupid, blondie."

He smirked, pulling his greatsword free from its sheathe. "Wouldn't dream of it, cowgirl."

* * *

The campground was quiet as Sise returned the bedrolls to his bag, dark bags hanging under his eyes.

Rainier was quiet as he performed his morning rituals, yellow eyes cast in a well-guarded blank stare, devoid of his usual exuberance.

Phalanx stood resolute and solitary a few meters away from the rest of the group, arms crossed over its massive red metal chest, the boy inside refusing to speak.

Gail had scaled a tree after quickly eating her meal, perched in a branch with a book in hand, under the guise of keeping an eye on the camp's perimeter.  
Daria watched her team quietly, deep in thought, brown eyes watching their every movements.

_'Do they believe in you? That's your problem. You just need to ask more questions.'_

Shinai's words echoed through her head, dark gaze falling to the dirt below, hands gripping into fists. Slowly, she rose to her feet, looking around to her silent and crestfallen team. "Hey, everyone, could you tune in for a second?"

Tsuki blinked and looked up, tired eyes looking on in interest.

She cleared her throat uncertainly. "I, uh... I want to apologize to you guys... I... uh..." She sighed. "Listen... I'm not a great leader. I know that. I suck at this... I just... you guys are some of my closest friends... all of you. Heck, you guys are some of my only friends, and... I'm sorry. I know that... I've let you guys down. Rainier was right; I shouldn't have been the one leading this team-"

"-Daria-" The aforementioned faunus tried to cut in weakly.

"-No, Rainier. You were right... Oz shouldn't have picked me... but he did. And... I think we've gotta live with that... I'm failing you," She looked to her teammates in turn. "...But I make this promise to you... I'll do better... I'll be better. You guys deserve better... I'll be your leader. I swear it."  
The small clearing fell into silence, Tsuki looking between the thoughtful quartet of students.

Rainier gave her a small smile. "...You needn't promise anything... funny, isn't it? How things change..." He rose to his feet. "...You are my leader. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Phalanx's gaze shifted to her silently, the glowing blue-green of its visor pulsating softly. Gail similarly looked down to her leader for a moment, a tiny grin claiming her face. "...Thank you."

Tsuki followed the motion of his students as he rose from his perch, looking out to his team. "Get packed up, we'll be leaving in five," He began to march away from the camp- stopping beside DRGN's leader, stalling for a moment. Finally, he gave her a small nod, the outline of a smile visible under his mask before continuing on his way.

Daria watched him go quietly, turning back to the treeline and the splash of blue visible amongst the leaves. "...Hey, Gail." She called out, a meep greeting her from the trees.

"Y-yeah?" The quiet huntress answered back, not moving from her position.

"Could you come down?"

"Oh… uh, yeah." A few moments of rustling filled the silence before the archer dropped down, a book held tightly to her chest.

Daria mulled a thought over for a few moments, deciding carefully on how she wanted to voice it. "So… Gail. Honey. Where… do we need to go?"

"What do you mean?" Gail asked quietly, fidgeting under the attention.

"Well… you're a hunter, right?"

"I mean… I was?"

"So you'll know what we're looking for. I figure you should take the lead, you know?"

"O-oh. Well… um… I guess we'll just keep an eye out for any signs. I… never really found a trail yesterday… sorry."

"No, no, you're fine. Take your time. We've got all week, don't we?"

Rainier watched his two teammates for a moment, swallowing hard. "...I'll be above. I'll call if I spot something, yes?"

Daria nodded. "You're okay. Be careful though, and don't stray. If a fight breaks out, we'll need you."

The faunus nodded back and leapt into the trees without another word, drawing a sigh from the team leader. She strutted over to Phalanx. "Nash? Nash, baby?"

The slitted eyes of the suit looked down to her. "Yes?"

"I need you to come out."

"Why."

"Please? For me?"

There was an audible swallow and a few moments of silence, before the head split in two, sliding down into the suit proper, and Nash's tussled hair popped out. His eyes were excruciatingly tired, and his cheeks were stained with tears.

"Oh, Nash." She muttered, using the mech's knee to heft herself up and sit on Phalanx's shoulder. Daria turned her eyes to Tsuki, mouthing ' _Words, later_ '.

Surprisingly, the veteran huntsman managed a content smile, nodding shortly.

The youngest member of the team climbed out of the suit and sat on the rim where the head of Phalanx had been, leaning against his leader. "Y'know that I love you guys, right?"

She nodded. "I know. I know."

* * *

"AHAHA!" Lance cackled as he cleaved the beast in half, greatsword gleaming in the sunlight. " _FINALLY_!"

He charged forwards, Iron Maw held out behind him in one hand, the other dangling limply as a dangerous, pent up light filling his blue eyes.

Ulysses was right by his side, towering over his partner, and looking just as distinctly ready for violence, trench long forgotten, flail held firmly in black taped hands.

Shinai was a few feet behind them, alongside Professor Port and Oracle- the gunslinger firing off bullets at the ursai around while the teacher looked simply content to watch, a small smile planted on his mustached face.

"Laughing Coffin!" The samurai barked, and the two forerunning huntsman switched positions.

Ulysses let out a grunt as chain spilled from his tank top, Avenger crashing onto the ground. Lance nodded with a grin and leapt, the brooding teen's flail following after him. As the chain met him, the blonde swordsman latched onto it with his legs, as if climbing a rope, and held his greatsword out above his head.

The chain- and partner- falling behind Ebony, he grunted and began to swing his weapon and passenger around in a circle, heavy boots smashing against the ground as he picked up speed, Lance cackling as he spun wildly. The duo reached the midst of the ursai pack, the grimm-like bears blinking in surprise as Lance's Iron Maw cleaved into them with an inordinate amount of momentum, Ulysses expertly spinning Avenger with a surprising level of grace.

Shinai nodded to Oracle. "Setting Sun."

The gunslinger grinned. "Setting Sun!"

The two took off in unison, rushing towards the battlefield, Shinai's hands firmly holding the handle of Shi En and Oracle's guns held barrels up. The samurai grunted and vaulted off of the ground as she loaded a golden cartridge into her main hand revolver. The two dashed passed the rampaging Lance and Ulysses, Shinai high above the swinging swordsman, and Oracle sliding beneath him, and passed the majority of the ursai pack.

Standing a short ways back, looking sufficiently miffed, was an ursai alpha; towering compared to even its bear-sized compatriots, and riddled with bone plate. It roared in defiance of the two huntsman, even as Oracle began to flow with golden aura, eyes glinting brightly with the energy. She grinned and slid to a stop, far enough away from the alpha to have some breathing room.

With a relaxed exhalation of breath, she fired with her loaded revolver, a low 'boom' filling the clearing as the aura spilled from her into her bullet, flying through the air-

And falling just perfectly enough so that it was right beneath Shinai as he descended, the samurai spinning vertically and cleaving the supernova-encased bullet in half.

The two halves flew on anyways, separating from the momentum- just enough so that they slammed into the ursai's shoulders, its arms falling to the ground with a pair of dull thumps, a pained roar following the grimm as it crashed down back first.

Shinai rolled through with his landing and strode forwards quickly, katana twirling, silver blade shining in the sun as he prepared to plunge it into the beast's throat-

Only for it to roar and push upwards off the ground, massive form bodily taking the samurai down, teeth gnashing as it reached for his head- the blade of Shi En the only thing holding it back. Shinai growled and glared the alpha down, teeth grit together.

With a deafening 'boom' of a cannon, the grimm's head was simply… gone, replaced by billowing black smoke. Standing above it, was Professor Port, face not belying the seriousness of the situation.

"Right pickle you've found yourself in, Mr. Kyani!" The teacher said, stepping to the side and lowering his weapon down to his waist. It was a fairly rudimentary blunderbuss, golden barrel looking somewhat like a trumpet, and two axe blades stuck out from the bottom of its stock. Port reached down and helped Shinai up with a firm hand, dusting the samurai off.

"...Thank you."

"My pleasure! Never forget; alpha class grimm are very stubborn creatures, and a little thing like vivisection is never one to keep them down."

Shinai nodded, purple eyes affirming as he filed the information away for later.

The two huntsman turned their attention to the melee dying down ahead of them, Oracle having joined it and firing a near never-ending stream of bullets.

* * *

The professor hummed to himself as he picked his way through the now decaying into smoke corpses of the grimm. "Mmhm! Top work, children! You handled these quite… handedly!" He chuckled to himself. "Another sweep of the area to see if there are any stragglers, and then we'll be on our way back to Beacon."

Lance, however, didn't share the professor's enthusiasm, face crestfallen.

"Aw, come on, hon, you got to fight some grimm. What else did you want?" Oracle asked, patting her teammate's shoulder.

The swordsman sighed, kicking a pebble away. "…I wanted to fight a Feilong."

Port chuckled. "Oho, my boy- no you didn't."

"That friggin' dragon again? Let it go, hon." Oracle muttered, mulling the thought over.

"Ah, yes, the King of the Seas!" The teacher called back. "Trust me, it's better this way, my boy! You'll have plenty of chances to fight bigger and badder grimm once you graduate, as I'm certain you all will. Why, my first mission after graduating, myself and a friend of mine were on the tail of a king taijitsu…"

Shinai sighed, sharing a look with Oracle as she rolled her eyes with a smile. As one, the five huntsmen took off on one last leisurely march.

* * *

Gail dashed forwards with ease, picking her way through the forest faster than the other four could keep up, eyes never leaving the ground- and the trail of Creep prints that littered it. "The trail's warm!" She called back, never looking to her teammates.

With a start, Tsuki froze in place, muscles tensing. "Tch." He hissed, before moving like a blur.

With a magnetic whir, his greatsword removed itself from his back into his hand, handle still held over his shoulder, arm trembling-

As he pushed against the golden blade jabbed into his own sword, the man at the end of the other sword scowling as he pulled his golden spear back, preparing to jab forwards again. Sise turned on his heel, greatsword swinging out around him, driving the hulking man back out of range.

The man was enormous, standing at least six inches taller than the veteran huntsman. He was sun-tanned, hair a deep gold and flowing out from his head like a mane. The bottom half of his face was covered in a white, thick mask, modelled like the bottom half of an animal's skull, a scar reaching up across his cheek from beneath it. He was dressed lightly in red and gold, cold, dark eyes staring at the students before him, a lion's tail flicking out lazily behind him.

" _Who are_ -" Sise began, only to be interrupted by a shocked scream.

Daria brought her ringblade up instinctively, parrying away the sickle and sending it tumbling through the air. It only took a moment before a flail replaced it, swinging wildly at the girl's head.

Phalanx's hand struck out and caught it firmly in the air, before ripping it out of the air and swinging it above their heads. With a rather shocked yelp, a body came flying from the treeline, soaring through the air- before crashing headfirst into the ground with a… bone-shattering crack.

Without hesitation, Nash's head replaced his mech's, blue eyes wide with horror as he stared at the crumpled body on the ground ahead of him. "Oh… oh my…" He whispered.

And then.

Slowly. Very, very, slowly, the body began to straighten up, like a puppet, cracking and groaning of bone-on-bone filling the silent forest. The figure's head slowly righted itself back in place.

The woman groaned as she rotated her neck as if… she had simply had a kink in it. Her black hair was short cut, nearly pixie-ish, the top of her face concealed in a half mask. The white mask was leaner, with sharp angles as opposed to her partner's, and two horizontal stripes lay above her eyes. She was dressed more conservatively than her apparent partner, covered in shades of green and pale golds, outfit hugging her form snugly.

Nash frowned and slowly descended back into his mech, helmet reclaiming its position as Daria marched over to him.

No one was given a chance to react to the two assailants, as another body came tumbling from the forest- this time it was a more familiar one's;

Gail.

She groaned as she rolled across the ground, bow spilling out beside her. All eyes glued themselves to the spot she had come from-

Walking from the shadows was a taller man, taller than his partners, and well muscled. Black hair was messy around his head, and his face was covered in a full white mask, modelled after a more bovine skull, framed by two more much more natural looking curved horns, like a ram's. He was dressed in loose, dark blues and blacks, his dress more ornate than the other faunus', a similar theme of gold ringing him.

All three of their masks were lined with swirling, red designs.

Tsuki hissed in a breath as he whirled about, watching the triumvirate surrounding them. " _Shit_." He whispered.

Daria looked up to him with confused eyes.  
"Cerberus."

* * *

Shinai breathed deeply as he waved his hands in soothing circles in front of him, legs crossed beneath him as he meditated, Shi En laid out across his lap. He hadn't had a chance to do this since the mission had began, and it was long overdue- the sounds of nature chirping away in the forest, the waterfall crashing behind him and rippling the water surrounding his rock, himself suspended in a tranquil pond created by the fall. He released a breath. No one but himself and the silence.

_Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump._

Shinai let out a slow breath, legs slowly uncurling out from under him.

_Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump._

He breathed in through his nose, hand coming to rest on the handle of Shi En.

_Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump._

He released the breath slowly, muscles coiling.

_Thumpthumpthump-splish-shling._

Shinai leapt up from the rock he was sat on, high into the air, feet pulling up just in time to dodge the glowing orange blade cleaving through the waterfall behind him, steam rising into the air. He flipped backwards, through the waterfall, landing solidly onto the rocky ground on the other side, Shi En held in his armored glove tightly.

Vegas Gold grinned as he turned to the samurai, pulling Dragon's Fang back to his side. "Long time no see, samurai."


	19. Chapter 8: Playing with the Big Boys

Chapter 8: Playing with the Big Boys

* * *

The three White Fang members slowly circled Sise and the students, effectively flanking them, weapons held at the ready. The lion faunus' golden spear was lined with clockwork, the blade itself making up the vast majority of the spear's size. The woman's flail-sickle combo were being twirled about lazily as she leaned back while walking. Meanwhile, the final faunus' hands were now holding a double-bladed sword, twirling it cautiously as he kept his gaze firmly locked onto Tsuki.

"Why don't you take off that mask, Octavius?" Sise asked quietly, greatsword held tightly in his hands. The ram faunus froze- and then slowly reached up, pulling the mask off and clipping it onto his belt. He was pale, with sharp angular features and fiery orange eyes.

"It's been a while, Tsuki." Octavius said back calmly, casually twirling his blades.

"So it has."

"You look tired. Giving these kids a hard time?"

The veteran huntsman said nothing, eyes shooting over to Octavius' partners cautiously.

The ram faunus sighed. "I was hoping it wasn't you when Imp told me a masked huntsman was here."

The woman nodded. "He hated that."

Octavius sent her a look before continuing. "Couldn't stay away, huh?"

Tsuki shrugged noncommittally. "We gave up on you a long time ago. This is just a field trip."

"Ah… and these are your students then? Where's the fourth."

Sise sent a look around- Nash, Gail, Daria- but no Rainier. "He stayed back there at the campsite."

"How… unlikely."

"Take that as you will."

"We done?" The lion faunus grumbled. "We've got places to be."

Octavius nodded, returning his mask to his face. "We're done."

And as one Cerberus dashed forwards.

* * *

Gold grinned manically, Dragon's Fang sizzling with heat at his side. "Sorry to bust in on your me-time, samurai, but I've got some business to settle. The little attack with wolfie? That was cute. But now it's just you and me- and someone dying. Spoiler; it's not me.."

Shinai frowned, eyes narrowing. "Not-"

"On your watch, over your dead body, yeah, yeah- I AGREE!" The criminal charged forwards, swinging down at the samurai. Shinai backstepped, Gold's sword planting itself into the ground with a hiss. Kyani immediately struck out with his katana, the Vegas backing away just in time to dodge the swipe.

Gold dashed forwards again, blade dragging across the ground, manic smile planted on his face. "Ooh-hoo-hoo! _En garde_ , kid!"

Shinai side stepped the criminal as Dragon's Fang came up for a slash, curved blade shooting for the samurai's core. The huntsman brought his katana up quickly, forcing the heated blade away with a quick parry, sparks flying up into the air of the cave. The two exchanged blows for a few moments, Gold's blade swung from side to side with heavy slashes, parried away with quick swipes from Shi En's blade. Gold grinned and planted his boot firmly into Shinai's midsection, following quickly by pushing his weight onto the samurai's own, glowing blade jabbing down into the student's midsection.

Kyani immediately brought his boots up and planted them into the criminal's chest, sending him stumbling away and giving the samurai the space to rise back to his feet, point of his katana held towards the criminal.

"I gotta admit, I'm disappointed someone like you's throwing your life away for Beacon," Gold said quietly, reflexively tapping the tip of his blade against the stone floor. "So much promise and for what? The option to die for an old man. You even know who Ozpin is? No. I bet you don't. Things I could tell you, kid."  
Shinai didn't respond, simply watching his opponent carefully.

Vegas shook his head, tsking. "It's a shame I'm not gonna get the chance to watch the wolf kill you himself, but… this'll feel so much more satisfying!" With a bark of a laugh, the criminal leapt forwards, Dragon's Fang held high in the air.

* * *

Tsuki's greatsword swung out with ridiculous speed, swiping the lion faunus' greatspear away and simultaneously parrying Imp's sickle out of the air, sending it flying back into the depths of the forest.

Nash reached out and swept Daria off of her feet, holding her in the air and avoiding the stab coming from Octavius, one half of the ram's blade burying itself into the dirt. Without losing any momentum, he turned, the other half of his sword swiping at Nash's armor, a deep rivet carving into the red armor of the mech. Nash growled and tossed his leader into the air, sending her into the depths of the trees above.

She reached out with one hand and caught a branch steadying herself, looking back down at the fight proper. A hand reached out and squeezed her shoulder, and she sighed. "Rainier, we-"

The hand tightened and she looked down at it- and the green painted nails. Daria swiveled in her spot, staring at Imp as the woman grinned in amusement. The White Fang member dropped down from the foliage, dragging the DRGN leader down with her, smashing her face first into the ground.

Sise momentarily looked to his charge, a growl escaping his lips, and that was all the distraction the hulking White Fang needed, greatspear swiping upwards and catching the veteran huntsman underneath the chin, sending him slipping into the air with a frightening amount of force. He spun with his momentum, feet finding themselves planted onto the bottom of a tree branch, and he pushed off, soaring back down to the forest floor, his greatsword Theia swiping for the lion faunus' midsection.

As if the veteran huntsman was moving in slow motion, the faunus simply stepped just out of range of the swing, Tsuki's impacting with the dirt and sliding a few feet away, spinning to his feet quickly.

The lion faunus growled and looked off to Octavius, the ram leaping into the air and landing atop Phalanx's shoulders, looking to jab his sword into the more vulnerable neck joints of the mech, before a hulking hand reached up and ripped him down by a leg, smashing him into the ground, sending dirt flying into the air.

"First restraint, open!"

Tsuki let out a yell of frustration. "NO- NASH!"

The head of Phalanx blinked and looked over to the veteran huntsman- before finding the faunus' blade buried into his shoulder. The mech released the White Fang and took a few steps back, Nash working furiously inside of Phalanx to get the arm functioning again.

Octavius rose to his feet, flames spilling from the eyes holes of his mask, smoke rising off of his body as he twirled his blades, jacket dropped to the ground. Like a bullet, he was back next to Nash, leaping and spinning in the air, sword ripping into the metal visor of the mech, drawing a yelp from the young huntsman.

Sise growled and turned his attention back to the lion faunus, the hulking White Fang's eyes glued to the huntsman's own.

"Are we gonna fight or what." He growled.

Tsuki's eyes took in the clustered battlefield- and Gail slowly pushing herself onto her knees, a quiet groan spilling from her lips, and the lack of Rainier; still in the trees.

The veteran huntsman twirled his blade and held it to the side, half of the green sliver in the center glowing softly. "Come on then."

The two dashed forwards, blades meeting with a heavy clang.

* * *

Shinai sidestepped the attack, ducking low beneath the blade slash, and swiping upwards with his katana. The strike rang true and Gold growled in frustration, twirling in place as he slashed again.

The samurai parried it away, the glowing blade pushed towards the ceiling, Vegas' eyes following it. Shinai leapt with the momentum of his swing, boot finding itself planted beneath Gold's chin and sending the criminal stumbling away. The samurai completed the turn, landing firmly onto the ground, Shi En held to the side, before dashing forwards again, purple eyes narrowed onto his opponent.

Reaching him, the samurai slashed quickly, Vegas narrowly parrying the slash away and throwing a quick left punch. With his free hand, Shinai caught it by the wrist and turned, using his momentum to throw Gold over his shoulder, and send him flying through the waterfall, back to the pond outside.

The criminal quickly leapt to the rock Shinai had formerly been meditating on, finding his feet and watching with narrowed eyes, waiting for the samurai to follow him back out.

_Poof._

With a cloud of purple smoke, Shinai appeared behind Gold, boot striking out and catching the criminal in the small of the back, sending him back into the pond, steam rising from where the superheated blade had fallen in.

Kyani didn't waste any time, vaulting up and backwards to the land surrounding the pond, katana held at the ready as he stared at the surface of the water, purple eyes narrowed.

With an uproarious splash, Vegas came crashing from the pond, glowing blade held point first at Shinai's heart as the criminal came soaring down, a scowl on his face. The samurai simply tilted his body, letting Dragon's Fang sear itself into the ground. Kyani kicked upwards, boot finding its mark on Gold's nose, the criminal stumbling away, free hand flying to his face.

Shinai pushed his advantage with a flurry of swipes, using the momentum from one to immediately slash the other direction, tracing an 'X' in the air as Shi En gleamed in the sunlight.

Finally, Vegas brought his own blade up, catching the katana against the hilt and using his superior strength to wrench it from the samurai's hand. The criminal grinned as he dashed backwards, catching it out of the air. "What do I tell ya? I'm a natural with these-"

Shinai raised his gauntleted hand into the air, two fingers stretched out. With a swift jerk of his palm, the katana ripped itself free from Gold's hand.

_"What in the-"_

He didn't get a chance to continue the thought as the samurai began to swing his hand about, Shi En following his motion and swinging around the criminal, silver blade slashing to and fro across Gold's form. Vegas stumbled away from the onslaught, golden eyes furrowed in confusion before they narrowed onto the samurai's gauntlet and a scowl reclaimed his face.

Gold charged forwards, narrowly dodging the blade as he swept down towards him, and lunged, hands extended out towards Shinai's arm.

* * *

The two greatblades clashed, the lion faunus pushing Tsuki down towards the dirt, growling animalistically. The veteran huntsman grit his teeth together, before swiveling his body, sending both blades into the dirt, a back elbow sent towards the White Fang's jawline. The hulking faunus ducked it like it was telegraphed, picking Sise up bodily and charged forwards, heaving the huntsman into the forest-

The duo smashed through the nearest tree, splinters flying into the air as they charged away from the melee for the moment.

Octavius watched his partner go, growling. "Imp!"

The woman looked up from where she was holding Daria's hair, the short huntress' face in the dirt. "Yeah?"

"Where-"

He was cut off as a hulking hand wrapped around his midsection, Phalanx's arm back in working order.

"Don't you ignore me." Nash growled lowly- and then vaulted into the air, taking the two of them high above the treetops, the thrusters on the mech hoisting them away.

Imp blinked as she watched the two combatants disappear. "Huh," She shrugged and turned her attention back to Daria- whom was staring up at her with disdainful brown eyes. "Oh come-"

The White Fang wasn't allowed another word as she was roughly thrown away from the short huntress- poised where she had been was Rainier, tanned face curved in a rare scowl. He didn't stop to exchange pleasantries as he dashed after Imp, Wolf's Claws impacting with the woman's chest and sending her vaulting into a tree, a crack heralding it crashing to the ground.

Rainier was by her side in an instant, a blur of silver, as he leapt and spun, mechanical leg impacting with Imp's stomach, sending her into the ground with a cringeworthy crunch. He didn't stick around though, vaulting high into the air after Nash and Octavius.

Daria groaned as she scrambled to her feet, jogging over to Gail. "Gail, I need you to get up."

"One second…" The archer muttered as blue aura crackled over her form.

"Gods…" The leader hissed in irritation, sending her gaze back to the slowly rising body of Imp.

Octavius growled as he ripped away at any leverage he could get in Phalanx's arm, twinblades falling to the ground. Nash looked down at him as they reached the clouds, his thrusters shutting down.

"Imma plant me a dumbass tree!" The mech spat as they twirled in the air, heads pointing back to the earth. With a 'whoosh', Nash's thrusters resumed activity, vaulting both combatants down towards the ground.

In a blur, Rainier met them in the air, metal leg colliding with the back of Octavius' skull, a cannon shot joining the satisfying crunch. Spinning with the blow, the faunus latched onto the back of Phalanx, swiveling around the thrusters spewing fire. He leaned towards the hatch in the back, tapping.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Good!"

The trio hurled back down towards the forest floor- and Octavius was limp, no longer fighting. As they reached the tops of the trees, he raised his head.

" _Second restraint_ -" The rest of the words were lost as they smashed through the trees, a cacophony of shattering lumber, a massive dust cloud flying into the air.

Daria stumbled away from them- and the spot Imp had been- eyes wide as she stared at the mass of combatants; and the longsword buried through Phalanx, pointing out the other side.

The back hatch of the mech spluttered and opened and closed erratically, even as Nash rose to his feet slowly, sparks flying from the wound, a frustrated, synthesized growl escaping his lips.

Beneath him, miraculously not crushed, was Octavius- mask shattered, revealing his grit teeth and grimace. Flames were spilling form his eyes and the corners of his mouth, smoke rising from his body like evaporation.

Crumpled beneath him was the twisted body of Imp, bones pointing in very wrong directions, motionless. He looked down to it.

"Damn." He muttered, bringing his boots up and pushing the mech, and the faunus riding it, away from himself, using his twinblades to rise to his feet. Rainier dropped from Phalanx, striding around it to glare down at Octavius.

"More White Fang, of course." The Vacuoan muttered.

The ram faunus stared at Rainier for a few moments. "You must be related to the White Wolf. A Platina this far east? Hm."

Rainier growled. "YOU do _NOT_ get to say that name!" He spat, voice going hoarse with raw emotion.

Octavius sighed. "Imp?"

There was a whir of movement as both sickle and flail flew towards the two huntsmen, flail narrowly missing Rainier, sickle puncturing a few inches into the mech.

The wolf glared at the flail on the ground, following the wire it was attached to, to the hand of Imp, the woman smiling, mask shattered at her feet, green-yellow eyes glinting with amusement. Her smile tilted manically and she pulled on the string with a finger, drawing Rainier's eyes back to the flail.

A series of clicks filled the clearing as the spikes on the flail flew outwards, dozens of needles flying through the air. The huntsman attempted to leap away, narrowly avoiding some, but taking one to the mechanical leg, and one to the chest, tumbling out of the air. Phalanx rather nonchalantly watched as several of the spikes bounced off of his armor. A hand wrapped around the wire and pulled it towards him, Imp flying through the air to land in his other hand.

"Nice tri-" He began, only for a blade to stab down into the neck of the mech, sparks flying out as Nash gave a yell of surprise.

Octavius glared at the mech. "I'm getting tired of you." He muttered, dashing around the Phalanx and carving the head out in a circle, the helmet falling to the ground. Leaping onto its shoulders, he reached in and pulled out Nash himself, the boy struggling in vain as the faunus held him up.

"NASH!" Daria screamed dashing forwards, leaping into the air, ringblades gleaming with energy as she fired volley after volley of laser discs at the White Fang. He simply dropped from his vantage point, letting the discs burn into the defunct armor of Phalanx. The short huntress skirted around it, blades held at the ready, only to run into a well placed kick to the chin, Octavius lying in wait, still holding Nash by the scruff of his neck.

"Kids these days," The faunus muttered. " _Predictable_." He tossed the boy to the side and planted a boot onto the back of Daria's neck, twinblades raised high in the air.

* * *

Shinai let out a sound of surprise as he tried to swivel his body away from the attack, succeeding only partly as Gold's sword arm wrapped around him. The free arm came up and wrapped around the samurai's gauntleted one.

Vegas grinned and a burning sensation began to spill from the place the criminal was holding, drawing a growl of pain from Shinai, a finger drawing Shi En out of the air and back towards the combatants. Watching the blade soar back towards him out of the corner of his eye, Gold waited until the last moment to spin them away, taking the samurai to the ground and letting the katana fly flush into the pond behind them.

Straddling the huntsman, Vegas- still holding onto the samurai's arm- lifted Dragon's Fang and plunged it down, narrowly missing Shinai's head as he moved it to the side, the superheated blade burying itself into the earth.

Still, Gold didn't let up, using the proximity to the samurai to wrap his sword hand around the huntsman's throat, the same burning feeling taking root from the criminal's other hand as well now.

"Oh, samurai! Most satisfying Rust I think I'll ever get!"

Pain spreading through his throat, Shinai turned his head away- towards the pond, and grimaced, using the strength left in his hand to gently pull the katana back towards him.

With hardly a sound, the katana rose out of the water and rolled to the samurai's hand. Shinai very skillfully turned Shi En around in his hand until its blade pointed towards Gold- and with another finger wiggle, it shot into the man's side, sending him tumbling away; as much as he could, arm still impaled into the ground as it was, hands releasing the huntsman.

Shinai sucked in a breath as the burning abated, hand shooting to his throat to massage it for a brief moment before shooting to his feet, where Gold was struggling to move back into a position to rip Dragon's Fang from the ground.

He didn't get the chance.

Kyani raised his boot and stomped down hard right onto the criminal's shoulder, Vegas' sword arm fully extended. The criminal let out a yelp of pain as his hand grasped at Shinai's foot, pushing him away as and gripping his shoulder frantically.

The samurai didn't react, face falling back into its well-accustomed stoicism as his hand reached out to the side, Shi En flying back to his hand. Standing over his enemy, he twirled the katana and plunged it downwards. Gold's hand shot out to snatch the samurai's sword arm out of the air, like he'd done in their last encounter.

Instead, Shinai skillfully pulled his arm back, katana twirling in his hand to sit parallel to his arm, and grabbed the criminal's outstretched arm.

_Poof._

The samurai Death Blossomed away, Gold still held in his hand, and reappeared next to an enormous oak tree. Twirling as his feet touched the ground, he slammed the criminal into the tree trunk, Vegas' body wrapping around it before Kyani let go, letting the older fighter tumble away, shaking his hand as he watched impassively.

Gold groaned in pain as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, Dragon's Fang still hissing warningly at his side. "Come on!" He hissed. "Just finish him! You're better than him! He's just a _fucking kid_!"

"Apparently not."

Vegas' eyes lit with unrestrained fury at Shinai's flatly delivered quip, and shot to his feet, charging forwards, sword swinging wildly.

The samurai simply continued to step backwards, casually ducking and swiveling around the frantic swings.

Gold roared in rage and swung Dragon's Fang one last time, putting all of his strength into the attack- only for Shinai to bring Shi En, still held backwards, and parry the strike away.

Vegas seethed, hunched over, glaring up at the impassive huntsman. "Fine! I'll do this _your_ way!"

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out… a handful of red shards. He grimaced and pumped aura into them, the shards beginning to glow, and then he slammed them into the ground.

* * *

_Whoosh._

An enormous glowing blue curve of energy flew through the air, ripping through the back of Octavius' shirt and sending him- and Phalanx- falling to the side. He rolled with the fall, grunting as he spun back to his feet, glaring from where the attack had originated from.

Tsuki was scowling right back, blue-green eyes livid, Theia held up- the metal segments had slid to the side, revealing a smaller, glowing sword buried in the middle, pulsating completely with energy. The man's hat had been lost, alongside his coat, but he hardly seemed to care.

"Dammit Gaius." Octavius growled out.

The aforementioned lion faunus came barreling out of the forest after Tsuki, roaring in rage as he swung his greatspear down. He wasn't given a chance to connect as an enormous arrow flew through the air, sending him flying to the side. Another one flew true- but this time it was a dark blue, glowing with energy as if like hardlight. All eyes averted to the side; where Gail was standing defiantly, greatbow held in hand. Next to her was a mirror image of herself made of solid, blue light, following her movements in a few second delay.

Octavius scowled, and turned his attention back to Tsuki. "Same old trick."

The huntsman shrugged slightly, before lifting the greatsword high into the air, swinging it down- following his movements was a wave of energy flying through the air towards the faunus. The ram dodged to the side with a whir of movement, smoke following in his path.

"Third restraint- open!" He barked and blazing hot energy burst from him, the other combatants raising their hands to block it. Tsuki scowled and raised Theia high into the air, the inner sword glowing frantically- and the turned the blade towards the ground, impaling it several feet into the dirt.

A glowing blue-green shockwave rocked the forest, exploding outwards from his blade and sending the other fighters tumbling away, the energy ripping away at their clothes.

He scowled- and then opened his eyes wide, head turning to the side as two fangs buried themselves into his neck.

Imp stared back at him with twinkling eyes, as something pumped into the veteran huntsman's body. After a moment, she backed off, wiping at her mouth as his hands flew to the wound, turning on his heel to her.

Surely enough, two few inches long fangs hung from her mouth, lips smiling around them. "Surpriiise."

Tsuki shook his head as his vision went blurry, legs threatening to give out from under him, stumbling in place.

"What did you do to him?!" Daria barked, scrambling over to the huntsman.

Gail slowly drifted to her side, eyes wary as she impaled her greatbow back into the earth.

"We sent a message." Was her short response.

Octavius watched the trio, aware of Nash sitting a few feet away, eyes wide in fear, and the groaning, recovering body of Rainier on the opposite side.

"What the hell does that mean?!" The team leader yelled back, shooting to her feet, ring blades in hand.

The ram faunus shook his head. "No one else has to die, girl. Just him. A message to Ozpin and the red one; leave the White Fang be."

He inclined his head to the side, Imp following after him, waving cutely to the students as she skipped after the ringleader.

"YOU ARE NOT-"

"DARIA!" Rainer roared, getting her to turn to him. "Let them go."

"Rain-"

"I'm not losing anyone else! Let! Them! Go!"

Octavius stared at the wolf faunus- Rainier glaring right back, furiously. The ram nodded shortly, then continued on his way.

Gaius groaned as he rose to his feet at the other side of the clearing, golden eyes staring at the battered huntsman. With a grunt, he took off after his compatriots, sheathing his greatspear onto his back.

The three White Fang disappeared into the forest, never looking back at the students once.

Nash scrambled over to Daria and Tsuki. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god-"

"Nash!" She barked. "Calm down! Give him some space!"

Rainier stumbled over, mechanical leg protesting as it whirred around the spike buried in it. He fished out his Scroll from his pocket. "I'm calling the pilot- we need to go. As soon as possible. Gail, can you help me get him up?"

She nodded quickly, limping over to his side as the two hefted the unresponsive huntsman up.

"Daria, I need you to keep calling people- Ozpin, Glynda, bloody Shinai, I don't care."

The leader nodded. "Nash, come on."

"But…" The boy muttered. "Phalanx?"

"We'll send someone back, we need to go. I need you to try calling anyone as well."

"Oh… okay."

The blonde boy rushed forwards to join his teammates as Gail lead the way back through the forest.

* * *

A handful of explosions rocked the previously peaceful clearing, Shinai sent flying away while Vegas had been braced for the impact and simply slid a few feet away. The criminal didn't waste any time before dashing forwards, grin finding itself back to his face as he bore down on the shaken, recovering samurai.

Kyani hissed in a breath as he scrambled to his feet, narrowly parrying a slash from Dragon's Fang away from himself, before Gold brought the blade back up almost cleaving down the front of the samurai. Shinai scowled and grabbed the dull end of the criminal's blade, wincing at the burning pain emanating through his glove at the feeling.

Manically grinning, Vegas lifted his boot and planted it into the midsection of Shinai, sending the samurai sliding meters away, doubled over in pain. Like a bullet, Gold dashed forwards, turning on his heel backwards, planting the bottom of his foot into Shinai's face, sending the huntsman twirling away, Shi En still held in his hand.

"What's wrong, samurai?! You were talking all that good shit a few minutes ago!"

Shinai simply righted himself, wiping at his mouth and turning his katana's blade back towards the criminal, purple eyes narrowed.

"Breathe it in, samurai! This is it. Your last moments. I dunno if you Temple people pray to a specific god, but you better find him real quick." And with that, Vegas began to lethargically saunter his way over to Shinai, taking his time, grin smug and manic at once. Kyani grit his teeth together and twirled his blade, lowering himself back down in his stance, foot sliding through the dirt to find itself behind him.

Gold yelled and dashed forwards, as Shinai did the same, Shi En hoisted to bury itself under the criminal's ribs, Dragon's Fang poised to impale the huntsman through the back.

Before a sonic 'boom' filled the courtyard, a golden gunshot ripping through Gold's arm, an explosion sending the two combatants away from each other.

As Shinai and Gold rolled to their feet, both eyes turned to the rocky outcropping above the waterfall-

Standing, glowering with fury, was Oracle.

And, face pulled up in a rare snarl, was Lance.

And, looking absolutely incensed, was Ulysses, Avenger's chain falling to the ground, ready to be swung at a moment's notice.

And also Professor Port, Axe-Cannon held at the ready, bushy eyebrows disapproving of the scene before him.

Vegas stared at them, golden eyes filled with rage as he slowly began to tremble in fury. His attention snapped back to Shinai, his breathing rising and falling faster and faster. "NEXT TIME, SAMURAI! _NEXT TIME_!" He roared furiously, spittle flying from his lips, before dashing away, to the opposite direction of the outcropping, into the forest.

Shinai didn't make a move to stop him, arms going limp as his adrenaline waned, Shi En's blade resting against the dirt as he huffed, watching the golden criminal disappear into the darkness. He turned tired, purple eyes back to his team, letting out a sigh.

Oracle nodded back, letting out a deep breath she'd been holding.


	20. Chapter 9: Breach

Chapter 9: Breach

* * *

As the bullhead flew closer and closer to Beacon, the last thing Daria expected to see was the giant plume of smoke rising from Vale.

Also the last thing she wanted to see at the moment, turning tired eyes to the remnants of her team; Gail having receded into herself, holding her bow to her chest, dark eyes locked onto the city as well; Rainier, eyes closed, arms and legs crossed, having hardly moved or said a word since they had started the flight home; Nash, legs curled into his chest, the bottom half of his face buried in his arms, blue eyes locked onto the ground.

Or, more specifically: Tsuki. The veteran huntsman was laying down, a blanket cast over him, and unmoving, sweat still pouring down his face. The veteran huntsman had been stabilized, his aura slowly restoring and keeping him alive for the time being. That, however, didn't alleviate the guilt crushing down on Daria.

The DRGN leader turned back to the window, a frown slowly claiming her face. "Drop us off in the city."

The pilot frowned as he leaned forwards, looking down at the city. "Uh… are you guys sure? It's… kind of a mess down there."

That was an understatement.

The city streets were swarming with grimm, the plume of smoke arising from one of the natural walls of the city, a gaping hole filled with the remains of a rather large train. Huntsmen and police rushed to and fro across the battlefield, fighting the grimm off as well as they could.

"Absolutely." Daria muttered.

"What about-"

"Take him to Ozpin, or something."

The pilot gave her a long, uncertain look, before sighing, taking the craft to the nearest safe rooftop, touching down and giving the teens a thumbs up. The quartet began to pile out of the bullhead- before Daria put a hand on Nash's chest.

"I need you to stay with them, bud." She said softly.

"But-"

"Nash, you don't have Phalanx. He'll need help getting Sise to Oz. I need you to do that."

He stared at her for a long few moments, blue eyes clouding with guilt- before hesitantly nodding, climbing back up. "Be safe." He said quietly, before the trio took flight again, soaring towards the base of Beacon tower.

The leader of DRGN watched it go for a moment, before turning back to Rainier and Gail, a distasteful frown claiming her face. "The last few days have been the worst," She said, looking to her teammates with a stony expression. "I'm not gonna ask you guys to want to go save the city right now. Instead- who wants to go kill a buttload of grimm?"

Rainier's face slowly worked its way into a vicious smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

Gail nodded, nocking an arrow, taking deep breaths as she turned her gaze to the melee beyond.

"Alright," Daria said, stepping up to the edge of the building. "I'll be keeping count." She leaned back- then free fell, twirling like a top.

* * *

Shinai released a slow, shaky breath, leaves of the Emerald Forest falling peacefully around him. His free hand went to his throat with a grimace, his neck wrapped in dark cloth. He shook his head with a sigh, unfolding his legs from under him, his attempt at meditation forgotten for the moment.

_'Breathe it in, samurai! This is it. Your last moments.'_

The killer's words ran through his mind ad nauseum, never ceasing to creep back into his thoughts at any given opportunity. He let out a deep breath, staring down at the grass, guilt spreading across his face. If his team hadn't made it in time...

He may not have walked away from the battle.

"Being foolhardy isn't the same as being courageous." He muttered to himself, shaking his head again.

_'NEXT TIME, SAMURAI! NEXT TIME!'_

The man had promised a next time.

Shinai would have to be ready for it.

The distant sounds of sirens cut through the Forest's peaceful silent, bringing the samurai's thoughts screeching to a halt. He rose to his feet with a frown, before reappearing high above, at the edge of Beacon's cliff. Purple eyes narrowed as he gazed towards the city, black smoke rising to fill the air, the far off roaring of grimm filling his ears.

He took a deep, steadying breath.

Poof.

* * *

Oracle let out a frustrated yell as her revolver clicked empty, the heavily armored grimm still charging at her. She ducked its wide swipe, leaping forwards in a roll, loading a single bullet into the cannister. She spun as she hit the ground, holding her revolver outstretched, and fired. The bullet found its mark, passing through one of the creature's eyes, then out the back of its head, the beast nearly flipping from the momentum, crashing to the ground lifelessly. The gunslinger didn't waste any time before reloading her guns, looking off to the side.

Lance's eyes met hers for a split second, before turning back to his own grimm, spinning in place, massive greatsword carving upwards through the beast, taking it off of the ground entirely. He turned on his heel, Iron Maw cutting through the air, before bisecting the creature cleanly, the two halves flopping to the ground. "Ulysses! Fastball!"

The hulking huntsman turned on his heel at the call, eyes mostly filled with black, heavy smoke rising off of him. He bounded forwards with a roar, hands lashing out and catching the swordsman by the back of his jacket. He spun a few times, then released, sending Lance hurling off through the air, sword gripped tightly in his hands.

The swordsman impacted hard with the King Taijitu- an monstrous half-black and half-white snake, a head on either end raised high into the air. Iron Maw cleaved into one of the heads as Lance made contact, nearly cleaving the head off entirely, before coming to a screeching stop. The grimm let loose a hissing roar, swinging its head from side to side in an attempt to shake the huntsman free.

Lance grimaced with the effort to hang on. "Stupid _friggin_ -" He raised his hand, clenching it into a fist. A large blue orb of energy exploded from beside the creature's face, nearly the entire half recoiling from the impact. The swordsman kicked off of the grimm, ripping his blade free-

But was a touch too slow, the other head lashing out and catching him by the foot in its massive fangs, drawing a yelp of pain from him. With a flick of his wrist, his blade shifted into its cannon form, bright blue shot already loaded. One eye closed in concentration as he was whipped from side to side, he took a long moment to line up the shot- then fired. The shot rang true, the white-scaled head of the Taijitu disappearing with a brilliant explosion.

Said explosion, though, sent him flying clear of the beast, crashing against the pavement with a groan, eyes widening as the remaining head hissed and dove towards him.

Poof.

The serpent's head hit the ground hard, landing just a few inches from the blonde huntsman, the now headless body going limp. Shinai landed in a roll, Shi En held out in front of him. Purple eyes met blue, the two teammates sharing a nod. The samurai extended a hand, helping Lance to his feet as he shifted Iron Maw back into its greatsword form.

The duo peered around the battlefield for a moment.

"You good, captain?" Lance asked, eyebrow raised.

Shinai nodded, twirling Shi En, ignoring the pain flaring through his arm. "I'm alright. How's the situation."

"Oh, you know. Shit?"

The samurai sighed. "Let's go." Without another word, he disappeared.

Lance walked through the smoke, waving it out of his face. "Stupid friggin' semblance," He muttered, taking off in a jog. "I can't teleport, just leave me here... stupid..." He trailed off into disgruntled grumbling as he continued his march onwards.

* * *

Daria twirled as she free fell, glowing ringblades ripping through the grimm beneath her, both beast and huntress crashing into the ground. She wasn't given a chance to recover, though, as another creature lunged at her. It never got close, though, a massive arrow piercing its body, pinning it to the ground. Rainier followed after, pushing off of the disappearing grimm, leaping into the fray, a flurry of steel and bullets as he zipped to and fro. Gail dropped down to Daria, new arrow nocked. The two huntresses exchanged a nod.

"Daria!" A very familiar voice called out. The short huntress turned as Ruby came flipping through the air, coming to a stop next to her, Crescent Rose held out in front of her.

"Rubes." The DRGN leader muttered.

"Are you guys okay?"

The shorter girl shook her head. "We will be. What's happening?"

"Uh..." Ruby looked around, slightly embarrassed. "It's... a long story."

"This better not be your fault."

"I mean... only _slightly_ ," The red-clad huntress muttered. "It's a long story!"

"Whatever. Where's your team?"

"Out fighting. Yours?"

"Out fighting. Wanna get back to it?"

"Oh, yeah, course."

The two huntresses turned their gazes forwards again, Ruby's scythe held behind her, Daria's ringblades held loosely at her sides. The girls exchanged nods before charging forwards again.

* * *

Shinai swiped upwards with his katana, steel blade carving through the grimm above him with ease, before turning on his heel, beheading the creature lunging at him from behind. Oracle's eyes met his, and the partners dashed passed each other, the gunslinger firing off a flurry of shots, while the samurai cleaved through the grimm ahead with deadly precision, the duo rapidly clearing out their street.

After a moment, she came sliding back towards him, firing off a volley of bullets at the massive beowolf she had been retreating from. "Captain. A thought occurs."

The leader of SOUL raised an eyebrow silently.

"We're not gonna be able to hold 'em off without A, someone to close the hole up; and B, reinforcements."

"You're not wrong," He muttered. "But we'll hold them off as long as we can."

"Not gonna lie, I hadn't planned on dyin' quite yet."

"Then don't."

"Love your optimism. If you see Lance, make sure he doesn't kick the bucket just yet."

The partners exchanged nods before splitting away, looking for others to assist. The samurai didn't get far, though, before an ear splitting roar greeted him, the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up as his instincts kicked in, turning on his heel, blade flying through the air.

He didn't get a chance to make the kill, though, as a gunshot cut through the din of battle, the grimm's head simply exploding, its body collapsing to the ground limply. Shinai looked up-

To Rainier, purple eyes meeting yellow. The two huntsmen stared off for a long moment, before breaking the staredown in near synchronization. The faunus stalked forwards, head on a swivel, before coming to a stop next to the samurai.

"Are you alright?" Shinai asked, twirling his blade, gaze filled with a touch of concern at his friend's appearance.

The Vacuoan snorted derisively. "That depends on your definition of 'alright.'"

"Ah."

Rainier's eyes shot over towards his rival's for a moment, before turning back to the city. "Tell me, samurai; do we stand a chance right now?"

"No."

"Good, that's how I like it. Shall we then?"

"After you."

The faunus took off without another word, leaving the samurai alone for a moment.

Poof.

* * *

Gail charged forwards, arrow after arrow flying from her bow, face filled with a maelstrom of emotions as she let loose the stress of the last few days, loosing herself in the fog of battle. The archer charged forwards with a yell, glowing red arrow preceding her, eviscerating the grimm ahead. She didn't slow at all, leaping through the cloud of smoke, turning on her heel, a flurry of arrows shooting around her, the loose circle of grimm racing towards her going flying away. She hit the ground, rolling, another arrow nocked-

Right into the face of Ulysses.

The berserking huntsman grunted, hand raised to attack, before stilling as well, shaking his head, the sight of her making the black of his eyes shrink ever-so-slightly.

"Ul- Mr. Ebony!" She gasped apologetically, lowering her bow.

"Don't call me that," He muttered, turning on his heel. "It's fine."

The duo stood silently for a moment, before he inclined his head. "You wanna go kill some shit."

A blush crossed her face, lips pursed in embarrassment- but she gave him a tiny nod nonetheless, rising to her feet,

The duo took off at a run, Avenger swinging above their heads, arrows flying through the air with precision, hitting their targets one after another, the huntsmen carving their way through the grimm ahead of them.

* * *

Rainier grimaced as he ducked a wide swing from a grimm, leaping up and bringing his claws down onto the back of its head, the creature compacting under the impact. He hit the ground spinning, a cannon shot firing and stopping another charging beast in its tracks, before shooting back to his feet, twirling on his heel- and stared down a hulking ursa, the grimm roaring furiously at him.

"Okay," He muttered, stalling in place, hopping from foot to foot. "Let's dance, then."

He leapt forwards- but was beat there.

Yang lashed out with a flurry of shotgun-assisted punches, sending the grimm stumbling back, before leaping in the air, superman punching it in the snout. As she spun, she gave the faunus a cheeky wink, before landing. He shook his head, a small smile finally finding its way to his face as he charged forwards to join her.

Rainier leapt over her, silver claws crashing against the creature's nose, its head whiplashing backwards from the impact. She didn't let up, dashing forwards under him to let out a string of powerful punches. The faunus hit the ground beside her, a side kick crumpling the ursa in on itself, immediately followed up by a wicked uppercut from the brawler, the grim leaving its feet. He shot off of the ground again, pushing off of her shoulder to stall above the creature- before free falling, silver claws crashing against its head, sending both back down into the ground, the grimm lifeless.

Yang helped her temporary partner up, dusting him off. "You and Daria make up?"

"I... believe so." He muttered.

"Cool! I'll still castrate you if you hurt her again, though."

"Duly noted."

"Glad we're settled. Good to have you back."

"I... thank you."

She gave him a cheeky grin, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "Hey, wanna go kill some more stuff."

"I'd be more than happy."

The duo took off again, the faunus' spirits slightly raised, before splitting apart. His eyes widened at a familiar shock of red hair. "Oh, Pyrrha!" His eyes shot to the sky, widening. "Up, if you wouldn't mind!"

The warrior turned to him, blinking in slight surprise, before catching the other huntsman's intention, holding her shield above her head. Rainier leapt into the air and landed on it, using his momentum and her pushing upwards to vault high into the air, spinning to look down at the battlefield. Eyes narrowed, he let his momentum cease, freefalling back towards the earth as his eyes narrowed on the Nevermore- an enormous, hulking, crow-like grimm- flying above the battlefield.

A cannon shot brought his descent to a new speed, spinning in place, Wolf's Claws colliding against the creature's back, another shot sending both it and the faunus plummeting to the ground. Stone shattering beneath the impact, the grimm and the huntsman rolled across the ground. The Nevermore recovered first, screeching in rage and stomping over to the still grounded faunus, a scowl planted on his face.

It never got the chance- a black glyph appearing next to his head, followed by a blur of white as Weiss appeared next to it, foot crashing into its cheek and sending it into the glyph, the grimm going stumbling away, a crack echoing out across the city street.

She landed onto the ground solidly, bringing her rapier up with a flourish, before twirling it, stabbing the point into the ground and sending a stream of ice the grimm's way, encasing its head in ice, even as the rest of its body writhed.

The Atlesian turned back to Rainier- his eyes trained on her, and wide- and extended a hand, helping him to his feet. "Jeez, you look terrible."

"I... you're a sight for sore eyes, Miss Schnee." He said, shaking his head, swallowing as his gaze cast over her.

"Of course I am. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't happy to see you- _only_ because we need all the help we can get." She added, eyes narrowing in an instant as his lips curled to retort.

He raised his hands abatingly, sighing. "You're so defensive, Miss Schnee. I'd simply wanted to express how utterly done with this bloody holiday I was."

"...Well. In that case- you and I both."

"Are you aware of any reinforcements coming?"

Weiss turned back to him, frowning. "Reinforcement from _who_ exactly-"

" _Citizens of Vale- please remain calm_."

Both huntsman turned their eyes to the sky- lo and behold, the white armored armada of Atlas began to soar into view. The smaller ships' sides opened up, Atlesian androids and soldiers falling to the city below, guns raised and firing at any grimm in sight. The larger ships began firing a volley of lasers and bullets, focusing on the larger grimm rampaging through the city.

The duo looked around at the soldiers beginning to push the creatures back, the massive force of proverbial cavalry quickly turning the tide.

Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster, crossing her arms and giving Rainier a smug look. " _Atlas_ efficiency."

The faunus shook his head. "My dear, I didn't even say anything."

"You were going to."

"I was not-" He stopped as he caught her look, head bowing with a sigh. "Very well. You know me far too well."

She rolled her eyes, the huntsmen looking around for a moment. "If that's all... I think I'm going to go back to my room and take a long... long nap."

The faunus stared off at the skyline for a moment, before a sudden burst of laughter overtook him, building in intensity until he had doubled over, hands on his knees, tears welling in his eyes.

Weiss' face twisted back into a snarl. "And what is so funny, Platina?"

"Ah- it's just-" He wiped a tear from his eye. "I- I think I've just become hysterical with stress. Pay me no mind!"

"...Do I _want_ to know to know what happened on your trip?"

"Aha... well... from the looks of it... we've a story or two to share!" He straightened back up, taking a deep, relieved breath, loads of tension draining from his body. "A pleasure talking to you as always, Miss Schnee. I have _needed_ this."

She shook her head, turning to march away. "...So strange."

* * *

Gold sighed as he stared at the TV screen-

"City of Vale saved by Atlesian fleet after grimm attack." The headline read, a rather flat-speaking reporter speaking of the incident, scenes of Vale's destruction playing in the background- though, not for long as Glynda Goodwitch strolled about in the background, riding crop raised into the air as the city's infrastructure repaired itself, flying into the air to return to their original places- including the enormous hole in the side of Vale's neighboring mountain, the train cleared out of the way.

The criminal sighed as he held his arm with a grimace, the limb flaring up in pain with even the slight movement. Between the samurai and the gunslinger, the arm was shot for the moment, requiring actual medical attention. That, however, was the least of his worries at the moment, a distasteful scowl crossing his face.

"The attack on Vale wasn't supposed to have happened for several weeks," He hissed. "The White Fang and Roman screwed everything!"

 _"Don't worry, Goldie. Everything's going to turn out just fine_." Cinder said soothingly through his earpiece.

"...You'd better hope so. I still have a rematch to keep."

* * *

Rainier sighed from his position atop his dorm's roof, watching the sun set in the distance, dark bags hanging under yellow eyes, legs kicking idly as they hung over the ledge.

"Rainier?" The faunus smiled in slight content as Blake walked towards him, frowning, black boots clacking against the tiles of the roof. "What do you want?"

The Vacuoan said nothing as his fellow faunus joined him, tanned face taking a content visage for the first time in the last several days.

"Rainier?" She asked again, this time in less irritation, and more genuine confusion.

"I… have almost died twice in a two day span. I've barely escaped with my life several more times over the past six months. Miss... Miss Belladonna, do you know a team by the name of... Cerberus?"

Blake paled, brilliant golden eyes widening. " _Cer_ … were you... attacked by them?"

"Ah, yes," He nodded. "I would say that. We... tried, to fight them off. It went poorly."

She sat down next to him, staring at him in concern. "Are you guys alright? Did anybody get hurt?"

"Ah... no. None of us. Our mentor, Sise Tsuki, though... didn't make it out nearly as unblemished. He's... alright, last I had heard. Blake... who are these guys?"

She shook her head. "...They're Sienna Khan's personal attack dogs. They're shock troopers, assassins- the guys she sends in to clean up messes quickly, and then they get back out. You... you guys…"

"Are lucky we survived? I feel as if I say that every few weeks. Well… thank you for that information. It hardly makes me any more comfortable, but... thank you nonetheless."

"Sure… Sky... Octavius. How many... restraints did he open?"

Rainier sighed. "Three, I believe? I don't truly remember. The last one he opened sent a scorching wave of air at us, if that helps at all."

Blake sighed, surprisingly in relief.

"How…" He began, turning to her for the first time, face drawn up in a frown.

"Many… restraints does he have?"

"…Eight. He has eight."

"My gods."

"Be thankful he didn't open anymore."

"Are they all so dramatic?"

"I've only ever seen him open up five, and it took him out of commission for a few days. Still... what he did with even that much power..." She shook her head.

"It would've been more than enough to kill you five."

"Well... how lovely."

The duo sat in silence for a few moments before Rainier bowed his head. "That... wasn't all that I had called you up here for."

She frowned again. "What else was there?"

He opened his mouth to speak, before stalling, hands clutching and unclutching as he worked up his courage. "Miss... Blake… I…" He sighed again. "...I want to apologize. I apologize for everything I've said to you, and the ways I've treated you. It's been unbecoming and you have done nothing to deserve it," Blake stared at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. "There's much you don't know about me, and I've worked hard to keep it that way. But I imagine that there's much that I don't know about you either. I... suppose the last few days have put the last few years in a new light for me. Blake, I enjoy who you are, and... I forgive who you were. If it means anything to you after the last few months. And... if you'd accept a poor wolf's apology."

She stared at him for a long few moments, before a small smile claimed her face. "...You know, I always thought it was funny that it was the two of us who fought. Out of all sixteen of us: the two faunus were the ones who bickered the most... I... I know that Adam did something to hurt you. I mean it when I say I have no idea what his operation had been, why he went to Vacuo, or even if it was sanctioned by Sienna... and I know that that doesn't make it any better... I guess I never stopped to think that you might have had your reasons for hating the White Fang... if you don't want to tell me, I don't need to know. I guess... I don't need to forgive you. There's nothing to apologize for. But... thank you. For thinking enough of me to apologize."

Rainier smiled broadly back to her, before lifting his hand. "To new friendships."

"...To new friendships." She took the offered limb, shaking it. The two faunus rose to their feet, turning to watch the sun continue to set below the horizon.

"I suppose I should let you return to your team," He said quietly. "Give the girls my regards. Goodnight, Miss Belladonna." He saluted her- and then leaned backwards over the edge of the building, teetering backwards before beginning to fall. At the last moment, he arced his back, lashing onto the edge of a window sill, threw it open, and scrambled back inside, shutting it behind him- not before waving up at the night sky.

Blake watched him go, shaking her head at the act of athleticism from her fellow faunus. She gave a tiny wave back, before turning on her heel, marching back the way she came.

* * *

"Ms. Copper." Shinai said without opening his eyes, sat on one of the benches littering Beacon's campus, face turned towards the setting sun.

"Hey." She said quietly, sitting next to him, legs folded underneath her.

That prompted him to look over at her, face falling slightly. "Are you... alright?"

"I... no. It's been a long few days."

"I see."

"I just... wanted to say thank you. For what you said to me that night. I... think I'm starting to figure this whole thing out."

"Good," He said quietly, with a short nod. "Your team needs you."

"Yeah... I... have you ever messed up? Seriously messed up? Like, someone got hurt because of you?"

He faltered for a moment. "I... I don't think so."

"Our veteran huntsman got hurt during our mission. I'm the leader of DRGN, I should've stepped up, but... I didn't."

"Sometimes things happen outside of our control," He mused, purple eyes turning back towards the sunset. "The true test of your person isn't how you handle good situations, ones that you understand, but those that are unfortunate, that you can't account for."

She gave him a quiet chuckle, shaking her head. "You're just full of proverbs, aren't you?"

"When my friends need them, yes."

Daria went quiet for a minute, the duo letting the sun bath them in its warm glow. "...Are you leaving? After the tournament, I mean."

"I... I'm not sure."

"If you're not- or even if you are, maybe- I'd... if you'd let me- I'd like to train with you during the vacation."

"...Oh."

"I've got a commitment to my team, as their leader. And you're great at it! I... think I could learn a lot from you."

"I... will see what I can do."

"Thanks, Shinai."

The duo lapsed back into silence, before he broke it, eyes closed again. "You're not a poor leader, Daria. Inexperienced, immature; maybe,"

"Gee, thanks."

"But not a poor leader. It was easy for me to bring my team together. That was never going to be as easy for you, not with the four of you. But you've managed it, in your own way. That's something to be proud of."

"...Thanks."

"But yes. There are areas that you need to improve on. And no matter the circumstances, I'd be more than happy to help you find your stride as a leader."

"Gods, you're such a weird guy."

"Yes. I suppose I am."

She chuckled, a small smile claiming his face as well.

And the two leaders sat, enjoying the sun setting over Beacon Academy.


	21. Chapter 10: Time to Say Goodbye

Chapter 10: Time to Say Goodbye

* * *

The sounds of metal clashing against metal filled the courtyard, sparks flying into the growing light, the sun rising in the distance.

Lance swung low, Iron Maw narrowly missing its mark as Shinai leapt above it, knees hugging his chest. The samurai slashed downwards, missing his mark as the blonde huntsman rolled away, Shi En slicing against the ground.

The greatswordsman kipped up to his feet, dragging Iron Maw across the concrete as he dashed away, free hand raised in acquiescence. "Alright, alright, I yield, I yield!"

Shinai gave his teammate a small head nod, resheathing his blade as the duo made their way off to the side.

"I saw it though-" Lance began, dropping his coat onto the ground as he took a long drink from his mug. "I was way too slow on that draw- and definitely way too slow trying to follow it up."

His leader nodded back as he took a drink himself. "A lesser opponent might not have taken the risk to counter. You can't always underestimate your opponents though."

The larger huntsman put a shocked hand to his chest. "Shinai? Bragging? Unheard of!"

Oracle nudged her partner, tipping her hat back on her head, sitting backwards on her chair at the moment. "How come it's blondie that always takes his shirt off, huh, Captain? Not even once?"

Shinai simply gave her a flat, long look.

"Aight. Point taken."

Lance snorted as he sat down on the bench beside her. "You love it and you know it."

"Mm... never said that."

"You thought it."

"Nnnope. Can't say I did, hon."

Ulysses cleared his throat pointedly as he rose to his feet, twirling Avenger around. "I'll take Kyani."

The greatswordsman idly gestured off towards their leader, the samurai nodding. "After you, big man. I'm tired of getting schooled."

The two dark huntsman exchanged nods as they stepped away from the bystanders, readying their weapons at their sides.

Daria stared at the duo with a frown from her perch on the bench, Gail off to her side, quietly buried in a book. "Tournament starts in two days, guys. Don't you think you should take it easy?"

Oracle straightened up, face falling into a stony expression. "' _Iron sharpens iron!' 'Be as ready as possible for the tournament!'_ You know the captain. This how he works."

Lance shrugged as he leaned over the back of the bench, taking a swig from his water bottle. "Hey. The captain got us this far."

"Give yourself some credit, hon. And me some while you're at it."

"No, for real. I think I'm a great fighter," The blonde swordsman pointed at the two combatants ahead of them. " _He_ made us a great team."

Oracle shrugged. "I mean… you're not wrong. But he's only as good as the parts he's got to mess with."

"Well... I'd agree to that, but I think Shinai could make any team top-tier."

"Yeah, but you're the sloppiest member on this team, and I'd put a bet on you in any fight, 'gainst just about anyone."

Lance turned to her, unimpressed. "Cowboy Queen of Backhanded Compliments, right here. You make it an art, O."

"I know, and you'd be lost without me, blondie."

He sighed, leaning back into his seat. "At least the Captain picks up my slack. Guys like him, Pyrrha, Rainier, hell, maybe even Yang? That's some next level stuff. Those are the kind of people I'm scared of running into this tourney," His head bowed for a moment, before a frown claimed his face, turning back to the leader of DRGN. "Where's wolfie and Nash anyways?"

Daria slumped slightly, her enthusiasm draining from her. "...Nash is working on his mech."

"Ah. Yeah. Those… Cerberus guys, right?"

"...Yeah."

Lance and Oracle shared a concerned look, before a grin reclaimed the blonde's face. "Cheer up, Copper. Next time we see them, it'll be all of us. We'll see how big and bad they are then."

Daria gave him a small, thin smile, before casting her gaze back down, troubled expression belaying her disbelief.

Oracle reached around her teammate and gave the leader a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "Where is Rain anyways? Not like him to miss a fight."

The shorter girl turned over her shoulder, peering off into the depths of Beacon, a note of sadness creeping into her expression.

* * *

Rainier stared hard at the wall, blinking tears away as his breathing hitched. " _Stop it_." He hissed to himself, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his jacket, the white fabric coming away damp.

He didn't stop blinking, focusing terribly hard on centering his breathing, failing horribly.

"Rain?"

He jumped in shock, turning towards the silhouetted form of Daria walking towards him, face pulled up in concern.

"Ah, Daria! I'm sorry, I was just-"

"You're… fine. Are you?"

He turned his gaze back to the wall, wiping at his eyes again. "…No. No, I don't think so."

His leader walked towards him- and sat down across the dark hallway from him, staring at him with a frown.

She didn't say anything though, simply sitting quietly.

Rainier avoided her gaze, ducking his head to stare at the ground between his feet. So the duo sat quietly for minutes, time stretching on in silence before he finally opened his mouth, not deigning to raise his eyes yet.

"I have to beat Shinai."

Her eyes snapped back to him. "What?"

"I have to beat him."

"W… _why_?"

"Because. Because I have to. I have to. I don't know why, and I don't expect you to understand. But I have to. I know none of that excuses everything I've done, everything I've missed, but… I don't know. You deserve to know."

"I…" She trailed off, staring at him. "Is that why…"

"Why I missed the dance. Why I show up exhausted every night. Why I avoid SOUL. It's an obsession, I know, but I can't escape it. I _have_ to beat him."

"…Rain, who knows if you'll even face off during the tournament?"

He shook his head. "If we don't, I'll wait for my next chance. And the one after that."

"Where… where is this even coming from?"

Rainier took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. "…In… In Vacuo, it's important to find your place, and to prove your worth. That is Vacuoan culture. In turn, it can… instill some… unhealthy habits. Do you want to know how good Shinai is? In sanctioned matches- tournaments, etc- he is 28-1. _28-1_. Pyrrha is the only person who has ever beat him. That is how good he is... and he _beat me_. With _ease_."

Daria stared at him silently, letting him continue.

"He's better than me. I know that, and so does he... But that's not good enough. I have to prove that he's not. For you. For Gail, and Nash, and my family. For me. For my pride. I have to prove that he's not better than me. I don't expect you to understand. But… I want you to know that I'm sorry, for all that I have done. And I hope you forgive me. And I hope that you support me."

"I… I do."

He let out a shaky breath that he didn't know he'd been holding, a slight smile claiming his face as he closed his eyes. "…Do you want to know what Tsuki showed me in his 'Nightmare'?"

The DRGN team leader pursed her lips, but nodded anyways, her gaze locked onto his face, the tears beginning to well in the corners of his own eyes.

"I was back at my family's villa in Tear's Fall. It was just like how I'd left it. It was like a waking memory. My brother, father, sister, and mother were there. Acting like they always act. Remarkably accurate. But… do you want to know what the 'Nightmare' part was?"

She nodded again.

"In my arms, swaddled in… in her blanket was…" He trailed off, breath hitching. "In her little blue blanket was a skeleton. A little, baby skeleton. That… that was Priscilla. My little baby sister, Priscilla," Tears began to fall freely down his face.

He sucked in a sobbing breath. "Oh, she was the most beautiful thing. Bright white hair, tanned skin, my mother's lilac eyes- a- a- a little, _mischievous_ smile planted on her face always. But in the dream… she was gone. And I couldn't let her go… I couldn't… I couldn't do anything," He breathed in shakily. "And everyone acted like she wasn't even there. Like nothing was wrong at all. I couldn't put her down- or- or-" He bowed his head, burying his face in his sleeve as he struggled to keep his composure.

Daria silently scooted over to his side, sitting by him and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Rainier brought his head back up, looking to the ceiling and letting out a choked sob, face a despairing grimace. "Gah. My little baby sister. _Priscilla_. I haven't said that name in five years…"

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

"Uh… in… when… the Platinas have… always been so staunchly anti-White Fang. It… We're a… a very influential family in Vacuo. My- at the time my father, now my brother, is a protector of Vacuo, particularly the… the west. Known as the 'White Wolf'. The White Fang… didn't… approve of us disapproving of them… but… well, they couldn't win us over," He sighed, bowing his head again, tears falling freely to the floor boards beneath them. "So… they decided… to get rid of us entirely. After all… what else could they do? So… one day, they… marched on my family's home- a dozen of them, maybe. Led by a man by the name of… of Adam Taurus,"

"...Blake's mentioned him." Daria muttered.

"…Right. He... he's been a cause of pain for many of us. But… they apparently did not know our family too well… Adam being stationed in Vale and all. So, they weren't… prepared for us. The… the six of us. We held them off and sent the… well, the survivors running. But…" He trailed off, pain finding its way back to his face as tears came anew. "Before we found them… they'd already been… been in our home. And they'd… they'd already found…" He cut himself off with a hitch, taking a steadying breath.

"They'd already found Priscilla. When we found her… she… she…" He let his head fall again, breath shaky as it left him. "She was already gone." He managed to finish with a choked whisper.

Daria said nothing, simply wrapping her arms around and holding him close to her.

"She's… buried in a small shrine behind our villa, overlooking the sea. She loved the sea. Priscilla," He sighed, wiping at his eyes. "Thank you. I haven't… I haven't told that story since it happened. Thank you… please, remind me; before we all leave for vacation, I want to tell that story to Blake."

Daria nodded, rising to her feet, one hand resting on his shoulder. "I'm going to get some food. Do you want to come?"

He waved her off gently. "I'll pass for now, Daria-"

"How long has it been since you've called me Dearest Daria?"

He smiled slightly at the memory. "Well… you told me to stop."

"I was mad at you."

"And I never go against a friend's wishes."

"Well… you have my permission."

He turned his smile towards her, pale yellow eyes misty. "Dearest Daria. Yes, I quite like that. Thank you- for the offer. But… I have a maelstrom of previously buried emotions to deal with at the moment. I'll come find you later, yes?"

She smiled. "Yes. Take your time, Rain."

"Thank you." He whispered as she walked down the hallway away from him, leaving him sitting alone.

* * *

Cinder stared at Rainier, glowing ember eyes twinkling with ideas. She backed away from the hallway, strolling back outside, pressing a hand to her ear.

"Congrats, Goldie. Your intuition wins again."

_"What now?"_

"The little wolf is ob _sessed_ with the samurai."

_"Called it. What's the plan?"_

"Oh… I think I can swing something." She trailed off with a victorious smile.

* * *

Daria frowned as she picked her way forwards through Beacon's mechanical shop, the whirring of machines filling the air. She marched towards the only light in the building, sparks flying up from beneath it.

"Nash?" She asked quietly.

"WHAT!" A voice yelled back, the machines ceasing activity.

Definitely Nash.

She rounded a corner, looking at her partner with a frown.

The boy was currently stationed on top of a ladder, blowtorch in hand, tools laid out over Phalanx's shoulders. The boy was staring at Daria, welding helmet perched on top of his head. He was covered in grease, fingers wrapped in bandages. Dark bags hung over his eyes- but he still retained the childlike look somehow.

"Nash, it's almost midnight." She said, still frowning.

The boy blinked and looked around, eyes locking onto the windows of the shop and the pitch black sky outside. "Oh. Huh. Yeah, guess it is."

"You coming to the dorm anytime soon."

"Uh…" He stared at his mech, Phalanx stripped of paint, but looking relatively put back together. "N…o? Can I stay? I'm almost done, pinky promise."

Daria shook her head. "Yes, you can stay. Just don't stay up all night, okay?"

"Will do! Or… not do? I dunno. Just gotta finish the head, and get some new paint goin' and I'll be done!"

"Okay. Door'll be open."

"Night Daria!"

She turned on her heel, pointing at him with narrowed eyes. "No all-nighter!"

He saluted her with a broad, goofy smile. "Pinky promise!"

* * *

Nash groaned as he rolled over. "Close the curtaaaains."

Daria glared at her partner. "What did I say?"

"It wasn't… all night…"

"FOUR O'CLOCK IS STILL AN ALL-NIGHTER!"

He groaned again as he put his pillow on top of his head.

"And you are not allowed to take a nap!"

"Whyyyy."

"Because tomorrow's the first rounds of the tournament, and you cannot be tired tomorrow morning, so you need a good night's sleep."

The boy whined. "Rainiiiier."

The faunus shrugged. "She's correct, my friend."

"Uuuuughn."

"But she is. We must all be prepared as possible for this tournament. It will not be easy," He turned his eyes to his teammates. "That means you two as well. Whatever you need to do to be ready, please do it, yes?"

Daria nodded. "Seriously. Everyone in this tournament had to qualify for it, just like we did. Whatever you gotta do to get in the right mindset- do it. We had to work our asses off to get here, and we're gonna have to work our asses off to win."

The faunus tossed a coin into the air, lashing out to catch it, a sly grin crossing his face. "We were the team that wasn't supposed to make it here... let's prove to them why they were wrong, shall we?"

Daria shared the grin, giving him a resolute nod.

* * *

_"This tournament's going to be the absolute hardest thing we'll do this year, and some of us fought terrorists."_

Nash sat atop Phalanx, freshly painted with red and gold, blue eyes trained on the Colosseum floating high above Vale, banners flying in the wind. He reached down and patted his mech, nodding to himself

* * *

_"It'll be tough. The other teams that we'll be facing will be ready for us."_

Gail breathed in deeply from her perch in the tree, legs crossed beneath her as she centered her breathing, feeling the dying light of the sun wash over her. She swallowed hard and nodded. "For them."

* * *

_"Whether they be Beacon, Shade, Haven, or Atlas- everybody's gunning for everybody."_

Ulysses grunted as he hammered away at the punching bag, hands wrapped in tape, earbuds blaring with music as he rained down blow after blow, face pulled up in a determined scowl. He pulled his fist all the way back- and let loose, the punching bag going flying off of its hook and soaring to the other side of the room.

* * *

_"We're fighting for our school, our Kingdom- adopted or not- and each other."_

Lance huffed as he hefted himself up, pushing himself above the cross bar and holding himself up for a long few moments. Breathing out, he lowered himself back own- then pulled himself up again, sky blue eyes hard as scenario upon scenario blared through his mind as he ran through the tournament over, and over, and over again.

* * *

_"No matter what, I'm proud of how far we've come."_

Oracle spun on her heel, firing her revolvers as fast as she could manage, the trees around her shredding from the bullets. Pirouetting, she effortlessly unloaded the shells from her pistols, and replaced the canisters with ridiculous speed, turning on her heel the opposite direction, firing into the trees again- this time a little bit faster.

And then she did it again.

A little bit faster. And a little bit faster.

* * *

_"But we didn't come this far to fall now."_

Daria stared at the papers in front of her-

RWBY, SOUL, JNPR, CRDL, DRGN-

Brown eyes shooting across their contents as she ran through each report over, and over, and over again, nodding to herself as she scrawled sloppy notes on a paper to her side, plans, strategies, ideas and so many other notes filling her mind as she ran through each Beacon team ad nauseum, nodding in satisfaction as she leaned back, turning her gaze to the orange light of the dying sun shining through her window.

* * *

_"Whatever you have to do- we're ready. We're ready to go through anybody we have to."_

Shinai let out slow breath as he waved his hands in front of himself slowly, Shi En floating in the air before him as he centered himself. As he would be for the tournament.

Absolutely zen. Purple eyes closed as he exhaled slowly, raising one foot into the air.

As ready as he would ever be, disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke, reappearing above it, and slicing it cleanly down the middle with his katana, landing with a slow exhalation of breath.

Ready.

* * *

Rainier stared at the setting sun with pale yellow eyes, nodding to himself from his perch atop one of Beacon's many pillars, standing straight. He turned his eyes to the sky, hands stuffed in his pockets.

_"Even if they are our friends."_

* * *

**-Volume 2-**


End file.
